Arsenal Must Add Experience in Defence to Counter Youthful Tyrone Mings Transfer
Arsene Wenger is right to target Ipswich Town defender Tyrone Mings in January, with the 21-year-old an outstanding performer this season. However, Arsenal sorely need an experienced signing to complement this added youth.
After impressing for the Championship side following the departure of previous first-choice left-back Aaron Cresswell, Mings has garnered widespread praise for his contributions to their impressive form.
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This, reports Jeremy Wilson of the Telegraph, has seen Arsenal declare their interest in an £8 million January transfer.
Wilson wrote: "Wenger has around £20 million available to him when the transfer window reopens next month and, although he is determined to add a defender, would prefer to recruit a player who can provide short-term cover but also has the potential to develop into a first-team regular."
He continued, stating: "Ipswich would now value Mings at closer to £10 million but Arsenal will hope to do a deal at just under that price."
James Olley, Chief Football Correspondent for the London Evening Standard also recently relayed Wenger's interest:
This move would see Wenger continue his youthful renovation of Arsenal's defence, after signing Calum Chambers from Southampton in the summer.
However, while signing Mings would be a great move for Arsenal, Wenger must not ignore a glaring need for immediate, experienced cover at centre-back.
Tyrone Mings
As part of one of the Championship's surprise packages this season, Mings has helped Mick McCarthy's Ipswich to become promotion candidates.
Having conceded just 19 goals in 19 games so far this season, Ipswich boast the joint-third best defensive record in the league and sit in second place before the weekend's fixtures begin.
The Arsenal target has been right at the heart of this success.
Mings' rate of 2.5 tackles and 2.9 interceptions on average per Championship game at left-back is surprisingly comparable to that of Cesar Azpilicueta at Chelsea.
Azpilicueta—arguably the league's best left-back—makes 2.7 tackles and 1.9 interceptions on average per Premier League game.
Furthermore, with three assists to his name, Mings is more than comfortable in attack, too.
Clearly, the gulf in class between both Mings and Azpilicueta, and the Championship and the Premier League are vast, but Wenger's interest in the defender is understandable.
At just 21 years old, the defender has much scope for development.
Perhaps the most intriguing facet of Wilson's report is in his suggestion that Mings "could also progress into a centre-back in the same way as Calum Chambers [at Arsenal]," a point which raises an interesting scenario.
Mings and Chambers: Arsenal's Future?
Wenger has always been a manager with one eye on the future—a point which his recent detractors could understandably use against him.
Mings' signing, and the suggestion that Wenger will look to convert him from left-back to centre-back, points to Arsenal's potential defensive future in a partnership alongside Chambers.
Chambers made his Arsenal debut, in the side's 3-0 Community Shield victory over Manchester City in August, in that role and impressed.
After that performance, Wenger told reporters, per ESPN.co.uk: "He can challenge both centre-backs and that's what you want. You cannot play with two centre-backs the whole season; that means he will play."
The two centre-backs Wenger was referring to were, of course, Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny—undoubtedly the manager's first-choice partnership.
But with Koscielny facing persistent injury problems, Wenger's assertion that Chambers is capable of deputising for the pair as an inexperienced 19-year-old points to a bold future move.
It is easily conceivable that Wenger could partner Chambers with Mings at centre-back in the near future.
The Need for Experience
There is no doubting that Wenger's move to convert full-backs Mings and Chambers into composed future centre-back options for Arsenal is an inspired one.
The pair could comfortably deputise in the potential absence of either Mertesacker or Koscielny.
However, the Arsenal manager must add an experienced defensive option to his ranks this January, too.
As Chambers has shown so far, with nerves apparent amid flashes of poise, the transition from young full-back to a central defender of Premier League pedigree will take some patience.
With Mings displaying his considerable defensive talents so far this season, he could happily find himself in the same position—with huge potential but requiring this tolerance.
In the event that both Mertesacker and Koscielny are unavailable for an extended period—not implausible given the Gunners' miserable injury record—a partnership of Mings and Chambers would not exactly represent defensive solidity at this point.
With Wenger letting his only other established, senior centre-back leave in the summer, with Thomas Vermaelen's BBC Sport-reported £15 million move to Barcelona, Arsenal would have little choice.
Vermaelen's own run of injuries underlines this great business by Wenger.
However, it remains somewhat of an oversight not replacing the defender's experience, with natural left-back Nacho Monreal having played eight games at centre-back between the Premier League and the Champions League this season.
Monreal has performed adequately when called upon, but he is far from the ideal model.
Perusing Transfermarkt.co.uk's extensive list of expiring contracts, Aston Villa's Ron Vlaar stands out as an ideal candidate in this situation.
An inexpensive option, Vlaar would provide experienced cover for Arsenal's defensive injuries, while joining Mertesacker and Koscielny as invaluable tutors for the developing pair of Mings and Chambers.
Signing Tyrone Mings would be another astute piece of business by Wenger, but in converting the Ipswich Town man to centre-back, he would be wise to look to sign a player like Aston Villa's Vlaar to provide experienced cover to a youthful defensive roster.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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