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Report: Arsenal close to the transfer of Bundesliga centre-back Edmond Tapsoba
Arsenal are close to the signing of Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, according to .
The Gunners have already seen their options at the back dwindle with David Luiz leaving the club at the end of his contract. There was also the exits of Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopolous back during the January transfer window after their contracts were terminated.
Arsenal enjoyed a decent campaign at the back this season, conceding just across their 38 Premier League games, the third-least in the top-flight after Manchester City and Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Tapsoba is coming off a solid term with Bernd Leno’s former club with the German outfit also having conceded the number of goals in Bundesliga.
Unnecessary: Arsenal’s Bundesliga transfer target far from needed
Last season showed everyone one thing and that was how crucial experience can be during important moments, whether that was during the league outings or in the European competition.
Luiz’s departure will leave a sizable hole in the centre of the Arsenal defence, and one that will need patching up. However, signing yet another young central defender would be a bad move from the Gunners, and is certainly not a requirement.
Mikel Arteta needs to replace Luiz with another experienced defender, who can shepherd the backline and help the youngsters thrive as the Brazilian did during his two years in north London.
With William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes having joined over the last two years, there are enough youngster at the back. It leave Pablo Mari as the oldest player in the backline, leaving the outfit quite vulnerable at the back.
Despite the 22-year-old having been lauded as ‘, it would be a horrible transfer decision to sign the ace given the need to replace the former Chelsea star’s experience within the squad.