Arsenal in the market for a new centre-back? Fazio who?

Arsenal in for Sevilla defender?

There’s a lot of Arsenal transfer news getting around at the moment and in most cases it’s probably all rumours, however this one particularly interested me because there seems to be some genuine links as well as some important things to consider.

According to various media reports, Arsenal is looking at Argentina and Sevilla defender Fazio. There have been reports in the past about Fazio and interestingly Arsenal were reportedly very close to signing the centre back in 2009, only for the bid to be rebuffed at a later stage. However if the story is true it would seem that once again Wenger is looking back at his former targets.

What interested me about this rumour was that Andrei Arshavin has been linked with Spanish club Sevilla and so originally I thought maybe there would be a possible swap deal on the cards. However then I remember Arshavin wouldn’t be contracted to Arsenal come the summer and so this deal would be irrelevant and impossible unless Arshavin did miraculously agree a new contract with the club. But it’s possible that two clubs may have been in contact and therefore discussed Fazio.

Honestly it’s most likely a rumour and the biggest thing out of this is the fact Fazio is more than likely to be on a list of targets for the summer.

But that’s not the main factor I want to bring up in this article. The main thought is, is Wenger looking to bring in another defender?

We currently have 4 choices in defence in my opinion, and they are Vermaelen, Koscielny, Mertesacker and Djourou. Squillaci is off in the summer and Miquel is still far too inexperienced to be involved at the highest level, so it’s plausible another defender may be on the way to the Emirates.

I think Djourou may leave permanently this summer, whilst the futures of Koscielny and Vermaelen aren’t certain yet. There have been several rumours about those players as well, but if one is to leave then I am sure that not only do they need to be replaced, but to be replaced by someone much better than Fazio. We need someone of an equal playing ability (or higher if we can!) and for me Fazio is a step down.

One incentive is, if there is any truth to this story is that we are on the lookout for another centre back, but hopefully that doesn’t involve one of our main players leaving.