Speaking at a press conference in China, Arsenal Wenger has confirmed that he will not invest in another left back this summer.
Despite a number of reports linking Leighton Baines with a move to The Gunners, Wenger has insisted that Kieran Gibbs and Armand Traore are both good enough to handle the left back position, without any new players coming in.
The Arsenal boss was asked by the press, whether he will use the current Arsenal youngsters to replace the sale of Gael Clichy. The Gunners boss responded immediately with a confident “Yes“.
“I will give a chance to Gibbs and Traore. The one who is most convincing, and if needed Vermaelen can play left back.”
Thomas Vermaelen was also there at the press conference and issued a statement, echoing self-confidence in his own ability to play left back next season, if need be. He also voiced his support for both Gibbs and Traore.
“It’s not my favourite position, but I think we have two great talented full-backs at our squad and I think that is a lot”.
Despite the ever-growing number of reports linking us with a £15m deal for Everton and England defender Leighton Baines, it appears that Arsene is content with his squad – at least for the left back position anyway.
Do I agree with him? Yes and no.
As much as I like Kieran Gibbs, his injury prone past doesn’t fill me with confidence. If we were to stick and not invest in a new left back, I would imagine we could find ourselves in a vulnerably deep hole of trouble.
I realise that maybe I’m being a tad harsh on the young lad but for me, it’s very hard to imagine Gibbs could survive a full Premier League season, without picking up any long term injuries.
Of course, there’s no doubt that he’s a good left back, but I can’t label him, or anyone else for that matter, “quality” if injuries are going to hold them back from playing a full league season.
Like every great footballer, Gibbs first needs to prove himself over 12 months, not 12 weeks.
Alternatively, Armand Traore has looked promising so far this pre-season, but of course, we are just one game in. He has a very long way to go if he’s to step up and be the one to be Gael Clichy’s full time replacement.
Sadly, I don’t think time is on Traore’s side. And I’ll even go on to suggest that this year could be his last chance to cement his future at Arsenal Football Club.
He’s been away on loan at various clubs for a number of years now, so it looks likely to be his last chance to show his worth.
However, by the sounds of it, if Armand Traore can impress Arsene Wenger this pre-season, it looks like he’ll pip Gibbs to a place in the starting eleven. At the moment, it looks like a 50/50 two horse race.
On the other and final hand, we have Thomas Vermaelen. A centre back, who I believe, could cover the role well – if called upon. But this scenario would force us to lose out, as TV5 wouldn’t be playing in the centre of defence.
Admittedly, I would prefer us invest in a new left back. This is mainly due to the fact that we’ve lost out on multiple league titles due to injuries and other problems revolving around a lack of depth and quality in our side.
I couldn’t bare to watch our side crumble at the final hurdle again because of something so stupid, after working so hard to win our first league title since 2004.
With that in mind, if Arsene Wenger truly believes we have enough depth and quality on the left side of our defence, then I will put my faith in his decision.
I can trust the man who knows every player inside and out, working closely with all members of the squad, every day of every week, all year round.
Naturally, I will expect an army to come back to bite Arsene in 6 months time, if things aren’t going so smoothly at the club.
But let’s be honest, since when has Arsene ever got on well with Captain Hindsight?
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