Arsenal: Wenger Should Address Defensive Worries by Selling Denilson or Diaby

Arsene Wenger has invested a lot of faith in his youngsters, and his policy of grooming young talent has developed the likes of Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere into world-class players. Arsenal have a team which has a lot of quality, but suffers from defensive weaknesses, and they have not got a quality goalkeeper.

Two of those young players, who have shown they do have a lot of talent, but have not realised their potential in their time with Arsenal so far, are Denilson and Abou Diaby. Denilson looked like he was growing into a world class talent two years ago, but injuries in the last year have hampered his progress, and he faces immense competition for a starting berth in the Arsenal midfield. On the other hand, Abou Diaby has shown glimpses of his world-class talent, but has not been consistent enough for the Gunners.

Arsene Wenger has no doubts regarding the duo’s potential, but he has a lot of young midfield options in his arsenal. Young Jack Wilshere has shown he is a world-class talent, and will command a starting berth in the near future. Aaron Ramsey is also a player with immense potential, and if he can overcome the psychological effects of his injury he has a bright future at Arsenal.

Both Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky are comfortable playing in centre midfield, and they have both shown that they can do a great job in that position. There are also a number of youngsters emerging from the academy, like Mark Randall and Nacer Barazite. Arsene Wenger does not spend much on the transfer market, but in my opinion, he must sign a quality goalkeeper and a commanding centre back, and the funds that could be obtained by transferring one of these two midfielders could be used by the Frenchman.

It is very difficult to decide who is more important to the Gunners among Denilson and Diaby, and that should be left to the discretion of Arsene Wenger. Hence, I shall just highlight the advantages of these two midfielders, and leave it to the readers as to who should be sold in the recent future.

Denilson has got excellent understanding of the game, and his interceptions to break up the attacking play of the opposition are vital to the team. Also, he possesses an excellent passing range and keeps the flow of the Arsenal game ticking by providing neat, simple passes, which are important. He was not at his best last season, but he has shown a lot of potential. He can shoot from long range, which is something that not many of the present Gunners do even if they do have the space.

Abou Diaby sustained a horrific leg break a few seasons back, but he looks to have fully recovered from the injury. He has shown that he possesses great talent, but has frustrated Arsenal supporters at regular intervals with his inconsistency. Diaby is a tall and strong lad and provides some much-needed physicality for the Gunners, who have a lot of talented but short and petite players on their squad. Also, he can play a number of positions, and his versatility is a great advantage for the Gunners.

In an ideal scenario, Arsenal would love to have both men playing for them in the future. But Arsenal’s problems (defensive worries) need to be addressed, and Arsenal needs to sign a quality goalkeeper and defender who are experienced at the highest level. Let us be pragmatic; Wenger is not going to spend a lot of money, and any funds that come through the sale of one of these two will be a real boost to his transfer kitty, and maybe the Frenchman will think of utilising the money.

In the present Arsenal team, Wenger employs a formation which uses the services of three central midfielders. Cesc Fabregas, the attacking midfielder and Alex Song, the defensive midfielder, have more or less established themselves as starters on the team. Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are promising young midfielders who deserve a lot of playing time in the near future. Wilshere is already an integral member of the team, which means reduced playing time for Denilson/Diaby. Also, Jay Emmanuel Thomas has impressed for the reserves in recent seasons, and deserves more chances to impress.

In my view, Arsenal have enough quality depth in central midfield, and selling one of these two would make sense. Wenger should be brave and accept a bid in the range of around 10–15 million for any one of these two, and, more importantly, spend the money wisely to acquire quality players who could address Arsenal’s defensive woes.