It’s no secret that Arsenal need another centre-back in the summer and according to reports in the media today it might well be River Plate defender Emanuel Mammana, with North London rivals also in the running to sign the youngster.
The 19 year old has graduated from the famed River Plate academy and has garnered lot of interest from all around Europe after breaking into the first team in January last year. His impressive form at the club level has also resulted in an international call-up for the defender in June last year.
The famed academy has produced some excellent players over the years with the likes of Higuain, Javier Mascherano, Hernan Crepso and Erik Lamela all coming through their system in the recent years.
The Gunners have reportedly watched his international debut against Slovenia last year and were very impressed with him. However the North London club won’t find it easy to bring him to the Emirates with Juventus, Tottneham and Atletico Madrid keeping a keen eye on his development.
The Argentinian is primarily a centre-back, but he can also play on either side of the defence like many other upcoming defenders of these times. He is an excellent reader of the game and has some good tackling ability. He is prone to making mistakes and loosing concentration , which is expected from a defender of his age. His other weakness is his physicality as he tends to struggle sometimes against dominant opponents, which he needs to work more on if he is make it out at the top level.
We currently have Mertesacker and Koscielny as our first choice centre-back’s with Paulista, who was signed in January, deputising when required. Chambers has also been used in that position a couple of times but it is not his natural position, so there is scope for another defender in the summer.
We already have three very experienced defenders in the side, so signing an youngster to back-up for them isn’t a bad idea. However he might struggle to get a work permit immediately with the conditions for attaining the exceptional talent also being tightened, so he might have to leave on loan for a season or two, before he can apply for an EU passport.
There hasn’t been any transfer fee mentioned but it seems he should come very cheap, unless there’s a bidding war going on. He might not be a mouth watering signing at the present moment, but the youngster has all the talents to make it big.
Who should Arsenal sign in the summer? Share your thoughts below in the comments.
