Arsenal might just have found the perfect William Saliba replacement

Arsenal's season kicks off this week when they play Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday, and they're still yet to address the glaring issue at the heart of their defence.

William Saliba may not need surgery on his injured back, but the Frenchman is likely to be unavailable until later this year. The imperious centre-back could miss upwards of 17 league matches and six Champions League encounters - essentially half the season.

While Cristhian Mosquera can provide adequate cover during this period, the Spaniard can't play every single minute between the start of the campaign and December. He also demonstrated some of the blemishes in his game towards the end of last season. Relying on the 22-year-old week in, week out for half a season could cost the Gunners silverware, as harsh as this may sound.

If Myles Lewis-Skelly has fully graduated into a midfield role, this also leaves Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori as the sole left-back options, meaning they will be less able to provide cover at centre-back. Clearly, adding in this position should be a priority for Andrea Berta between now and the end of the transfer window.

Arsenal monitoring Jules Kounde

Ezri Konsa has been linked with a move to the Emirates, but Aston Villa are reportedly demanding £60 million for the 28-year-old, a fee Arsenal simply cannot justify paying. Aside from the England international, few concrete links to defenders have surfaced thus far, aside from the laughable reports of interest in Tottenham's Cristian Romero, who now appears to be Madrid-bound.

Thus, the Gunners need to look elsewhere. Spanish outlet Sport indicate that Arsenal are closely monitoring Jules Kounde's situation at Barcelona.

The report suggests that the Catalan club are willing to sanction the Frenchman's departure if they receive a 'multi-million euro offer'. Sport claim Kounde is content at Camp Nou, although conflicting reports point to tension arising between the 27-year-old and manager Hansi Flick.

According to journalist Juan Jesus, Kounde is 'fed up' with playing at right-back and has made it clear to Flick that he wants to be deployed centrally. This sparked a 'heated argument' between the two, and Kounde's representatives are now exploring potential moves to the Premier League.

It's difficult to know how credible these reports are, but the noise coming out around the player suggests something might be up. If the relationship between Kounde and Barcelona is indeed collapsing, Arsenal must pounce.

Jules Kounde is the perfect option for Arsenal

There are younger and cheaper alternatives available to Arsenal. Girona's Arnau Martinez is available for just £7 million, and this would provide the Gunners with an immediate option without dipping into their budget for other positions.

However, as stressed in the intro to this piece, replacing Saliba for half a season requires a more experienced and high-quality addition. Another young player who can develop alongside Mosquera doesn't make sense when you're acquiring a short-term stop-gap solution.

This is why Kounde would be the perfect signing. The France international has spent the last few years at right-back for Barcelona and Les Blues, but was primarily a centre-back before this for Sevilla. Arsenal need someone who can cover both positions but who predominantly wants to play centrally, and based on the reports from Juan Jesus, this is exactly what Kounde is looking for.

Strong, athletic and astute in possession, Kounde has all the physical and technical tools to thrive in the Premier League. He may not be as exceptional as Saliba in terms of making heroic defensive plays or starting dangerous attacks with line-breaking passes, but he's the closest player in terms of calibre that the Gunners could feasibly attract.

He's the perfect player to add to Arsenal's centre-back and right-back rotation, and it's likely Arteta's project and living in North London would appeal to the Paris-born man.

If the Gunners can negotiate a reasonable deal for the player, then it's a no-brainer.

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