Arsenal ready to hijack Chelsea’s move for Premier League centre-back

Arsenal Football Club have been leaking far too many goals this season, and that has left them wallowing in seventh place in the Premier League table. The Gunners’ form has been up and down, and outside of Laurent Koscielny, they haven’t really had a centre-half that they can rely upon every week.

It looks as though Arsene Wenger has identified that problem as an area in which the club can strengthen in when the summer transfer window opens. One man they are looking at is Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk. That’s according to The Mirror who claims that Arsenal are looking to hijack Chelsea’s move to bring in the Dutchman. Already odds are shortening on the highly rated centre back leaving Southampton this summer with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool already linked. Freebets.co.uk Ladbrokes Review are offering betting bonuses for punters to place bets on Virgil van Dijk leaving Southampton this summer. Which is not a surprise considering how well the player has done in the last two years. It is just now that the big guns want him, he seems to have grown beyond Southampton’s level.

The 25-year-old has emerged as one of the best defenders in the country since his arrival in the Premier League in 2015, and he really has been a breath of fresh air to watch. In his debut season, Van Dijk played 38 games for The Saints, but this season he has had horrific injury luck, meaning he’s only featured in 25 matches across all competitions. That hasn’t put off potential buyers though, and rightly so because in the games he has played in, the former Celtic man has been outstanding.

If the interest from both Arsenal and Chelsea is genuine, then Van Dijk would have a huge decision to make. With The Gunners, there is definitely a spot open for him if he chose a move to North London; and that may not be a luxury he would be given if he chose Stamford Bridge with the likes of Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta and Kurt Zouma all shining.

At The Emirates, ShkodranMustafi is struggling to adapt, Gabriel Paulista has been very hit and miss, Per Mertesacker is ageing and despite all his talents, Laurent Koscielny has a terrible record when it comes to injuries.

I’m genuinely of the opinion that Virgil van Dijk would improve pretty much every club side in the country, and if Arsenal were to sign him I believe they’d stop leaking goals almost immediately.