Arsenal In Talks With Brazilian Centre-Back - Why He Should Be Brought In To Replace Vermaelen

Arsenal are said to be in talks with Gremio over a summer move for 21-year-old centre-half Bressan. I am in belief that the young defender would be a shrewd signing for the Gunners for a number of reasons, but only as long as Thomas Vermaelen is shown the exit over the next few months.

I have been calling for Arsenal to sign an up-and-coming centre-back for a long time now and I think this one fits the bill.

The reason I suggest that is Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny are almost the perfect pairing at the back, and Vermaelen's career has suffered because of that.

Replacing him with a younger model would allow him to learn from the first choice duo and slowly be introduced into the frame.

Bressan is a player that I have followed closely over the past year or so and he ticks a lot of boxes for me. The Gremio player has a lot of pace and is exceptional in the tackle, while also holding a towering presence when competing in the air.

To summarise, I would offload Vermaelen and try my hardest to sign the young Brazilian.

Louis Brown

Comments

[Rik Shaw]

An interesting player. If Mertesaker has a weakness its the obvious one of speed and manoeverability against fast, agile attackers but having said that his record with Koscielny suggests that weakness is over-stated. Bressan won't be known to most Arsenal fans but he's certainly worth considering.