Arsenal may need to make a decision at right-back this summer.
Ben White remains an excellent player on his day, but injuries have disrupted him badly over the last two seasons, and he is currently sidelined again, which has even cost him a place at the World Cup.
Jurrien Timber is a brilliant option in that role and the first choice, but Mikel Arteta will know that Arsenal cannot afford to go into another long season short of reliable defensive cover.
That has led to links with a few right-backs, and one player on the Gunners’ radar is Sporting CP defender Ivan Fresneda.
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Ruben Amorim did not know how to use Arsenal-linked Ivan Fresneda
Fresneda’s time at Sporting has not always been straightforward.
The Spaniard arrived in Portugal as one of the most exciting young right-backs in Europe, but his first season did not go to plan at all.
Under Ruben Amorim, he struggled to find a proper role in the team.
That was not necessarily because Fresneda lacked quality – the bigger issue was the system he was being asked to play in.
Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup demanded wing-backs who could constantly bomb forward, attack space and provide relentless attacking width.
Fresneda has qualities going forward, but he is naturally more of a balanced right-back than a pure flying wing-back.
According to A Bola, that was why he never truly fit the bill under Amorim, making just 10 appearances in his first season at Sporting.
Things changed once Rui Borges took charge.
Fresneda was moved into a more natural right-back role and suddenly looked like a different player. His aggression, defensive positioning, reading of the game and tactical intelligence all started to shine.
The turnaround has been so impressive that he became Sporting’s eighth most-used player and is now being praised for the way he has rewritten his story in Lisbon.
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Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal system will suit Ivan Fresneda
That is exactly why Arsenal’s interest makes sense.
Fresneda looks far better suited to playing as a right-back in a back four than as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 system.
At the Emirates Stadium, he would be asked to defend properly, tuck inside when needed, overlap at the right moments and help build attacks from deeper areas.
Those responsibilities feel much closer to his natural game than the role Amorim tried to give him at Sporting.
Arteta also values defenders who can adapt within games, and Fresneda has already shown under Borges that he can be a tactical chameleon when used correctly.
If the Premier League champions do move for him, there is every chance Arteta could get even more out of him. Amorim may not have found the right role for Fresneda, but the Emirates could be the perfect place for him to kick on.
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