da roleta： Arsenal should, for once, make a move for a recognised left-back and sign AC Milan’s Ricardo Rodriguez in the light of Nacho Monreal’s future remaining uncertain at the North London club.
da pinup bet： Rodriguez kept his cool on Sunday evening when he scored a penalty to spark Switzerland’s incredible comeback against Belgian, winning 5-2 after being two goals down after only 16 minutes.
The 26-year-old has shown composure for both club and country on more than a few occasion, while he has grown into quite an experienced full-back that is organised and calm.
After making close to 200 appearances for Wolfsburg in a six-year period, the Swiss made the move to Italy in 2017, where is under contract at Milan until 2021. But, his development and leadership qualities have shown that he is exactly the man Unai Emery would benefit from in the long-term.
The Gunners have been tested at left-back this season due to a number of injuries that forced Emery to field the likes of Ansley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac, while midfielder Granit Xhaka also had to stand in at full-back where he started the match against Crystal Palace last month.
For the long run however the club’s recruitment system should be looking at the position as one that could cause them a lot of harm if they don’t address the problem soon. Adding much-needed depth is, therefore, a must for the club with Monreal’s current deal expiring at the end of the season.
Rodriguez would be just the player Arsenal need to bring stability to the left flank and the whole defence with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Laurent Koscielny and Hector Bellerin the likely players to feature next to him should a move be agreed.
At the age of 26, Emery would also be able to get the best out him for at least a good few years, while his experience already makes him a good fit to handle the pressures of the Premier League.
Arsenal will never be real title contenders with the current left-backs they have in their armour, despite Monreal being one of the more consistent performers in recent years. But with Rodriguez at the back, they might be able to make a real push to challenge some of the bigger clubs in the country.