Unai Emery continues his search for Rob Holding’s replacement as the young defender is ruled out of the season due to a knee injury.
The Gunners manager is linked with some defenders, including United’s Eric Bailly and Chelsea’s Gary Cahill, but the Spaniard is yet to comment on the speculations making headlines.
As Emery continues to ponder on who should be brought into Emirates stadium as the youngster’s replacement, former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has helped reduced his thinking.
Campbell has reportedly told Emery to make move for Napoli’s centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly in January. According to the Ex-gunner, the defender will be a massive addition to the team at the back and he is going to be an upgrade to Rob Holding.
Relying on a comment via his Twitter account, Campbell revealed his desire to see him at the Emirates stadium ‘ASAP’.
Is Koulibaly the best option available?
The 27-year-old is surely one of the best centre-backs you could come across in modern-day football. His ability to read and nip dangers from the bud is out of this world, while his aerial threat is equally an added advantage.
Unlike Holding, Koulibaly is an experienced player who had made and learnt from many errors in the past.
Since his move to the Serie A giants from Genk in 2014, the Senegalese is being a wonderful and exciting player to watch. He’s been a rock at the back of the pitch, he helped the team to a second place finish last season.
He has featured in 177 matches in all competitions since his switch to the Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Koulibaly vs Liverpool – a sample of what Emery could enjoy in January
Though the Reds narrowly defeated Napoli in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter, Koulibaly’s display was nothing short of brilliance.
He was awesome in one-on-one situations, he didn’t give Salah and Firmino much space to wreak any havoc.
Bar just one occasion where Salah got past him which eventually led to the only goal of the game, the Senegalese was able to prevent many dangerous crosses from entering into his box.
He wasn’t afraid to make sliding tackles whenever there are needs for it. Indeed, he put up a man-of-the-match performance.
Tuesday’s performance was just a rehearsal to what Unai Emery stand to enjoy should he complete the player’s signature by January.
Apart from his individual qualities, the former Genk star is a workaholic team player who can comfortably coordinate the team at the back.
He has all it takes to be the leader at the back of the pitch, even if he won’t be made the team captain
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