Arsenal have just been given every reason to walk away from a transfer target they had already been cooling on.
Tino Livramento has been ruled out of England’s World Cup campaign with a calf injury sustained in training on Sunday.
It is yet another injury setback for the Newcastle right-back, who had already missed the final five weeks of the Premier League season with a thigh problem.
His involvement in the tournament had been in doubt even before this latest blow.
Arsenal were keen on bringing in Livramento as a possible replacement for Ben White, but were already concerned about the player’s injury history.
Should Tino Livramento’s injury history put Arsenal off signing him?
Now, this development should make their minds up.
The Premier League champions were also reluctant to meet Newcastle’s demands for the 23-year-old — a figure that would eclipse the world-record fee for a right-back.
England have called up Trevoh Chalobah as a replacement, despite already having five central defenders in their squad.
The obvious alternative, surely, would have been a natural full-back. Myles Lewis-Skelly, for instance, could have provided not only left-back cover but competition in midfield too.
Why Arsenal may not sign a right-back anymore
Beyond Livramento’s injury issues, there is a tactical argument against Arsenal even signing a conventional right-back this summer anyway.
The way Arteta uses his full-backs — the third-man runs, the combining with the winger, the pockets in build-up play, and arriving late to get on the end of final actions — these are fundamentally midfield attributes.
The centre-back/full-back hybrid profile Arsenal have favoured for years has served them brilliantly. But the next evolution of that role might well be a midfield hybrid, a player who falls effortlessly into those positions because that is their natural game.
All the more reason why Ayyoub Boaddi makes such compelling sense. As a midfielder capable of covering at right-back, he would instinctively understand the demands of the role.
👀 NAME a BETTER midfield target for Arsenal than Ayyoub Bouaddi… I bet you CAN’T…
🌟 The 18-year-old looked so good vs Brazil's at the World Cup!
He could also provide for Declan Rice, and further down the line, take his place in midfield. The Moroccan would effectively kill two birds with one stone.
Besides, Ben White, who may not even be leaving anymore, provides more experienced cover at right-back in the short term.
Livramento, on paper, would be a quality addition. But at Newcastle’s asking price, with this injury record, and for a position Arsenal can look to fill differently, the answer was always probably no. Now it is definitely no.
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