Arsenal are reportedly eyeing up a move for Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico as Nacho Monreal does not fit the ‘player profile required by new Arsenal’ according to a report from Spain.
This is not the first time that Arsenal have been linked with a move for Tagliafico, nor the first time it’s been reported we will be getting rid of Nacho Monreal, who is out of contract next summer.
At the end of October it was reported that Arsenal were watching Tagliafico as a replacement for Monreal who could, apparently, be on his way to Barcelona in January.
Ok, then.
I noticed this article in the Italian press as they covered Napoli’s reported interest in the player, but then I realised their source was The S*n.
Arsenal will certainly be on the look-out for another left-back sooner rather than later but there is no indication that they are prepared to let Monreal, who is under contract until 2019, leave for Barcelona in January.
That being said, given his age and contract status, a January departure wouldn’t be that much of a shock, especially as he turns 33 in February. It just doesn’t make much sense to me that the club would let a player, good enough for Barcelona, leave when he seems more than happy to stay at the club.
Monreal has been linked with an Arsenal exit for some time with Athletic Bilbao eyeing him up consistently due to his Basque heritage.
As for Tagliafico, he’s a 26-year-old left-footer who has only been playing for the Eredivisie runners-up he signed from Independiente in January.
So far this season, he has two goals and three assists from 17 appearances which is more than a decent return for a full-back.
Nacho himself, however, has one goal and three assists in 10 appearances (and 605 fewer minutes) while on the other flank Hector Bellerin has four assists from 11 games. Sead Kolasinac has only played 171 minutes this season due to injury.
What was interesting about the S*n’s piece was their insistence that Sead Kolasinac has not impressed since his arrival. This follows on from the bizarre claim made in the Mirror that Unai Emery dislikes the Bosnian so much he is picking Ainsley Maitland-Niles ahead of him despite this clearly not being the case.
State of this from the Mirror. There hasn't been a single game where AMN was selected ahead of Kola b/c both have been injured pic.twitter.com/90NGMBftxN
— Daily Cannon (@DailyCannon) October 20, 2018
Tagliafico’s strengths are listed as ball interception, ball retention and passing. His biggest weakness is his discipline.
Sounds like he was tailor-made for Arsenal, doesn’t it?
Before he was injured, Nacho Monreal was starting matches for Unai Emery so it remains to be seen just how keen the head coach is to ship the full-back out.