
Arsenal’s greatest strength this season can also be said to be the defense of last season.
Mikel Arteta’s side may have 17 fewer goals than Premier League Liverpool, but then, even though they scored 10 points at the top, they managed to admit seven goals of seven goals.
While this truly impressive solidity is partly attributed to the entire team, it is not accurate to describe William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as the lead architects of the Gunners’ almost impenetrable defender.
So, compared to both of them, fans should be happy with the latest reports linking the club to the international defender.
Arsenal seeks another defender
Before entering the questionable star, it is worth looking at some of the other defensive giants that have been linked to Arsenal in recent weeks and months, such as Jorrel Hato and Marc Guehi.
This summer, the former appears to be on the market for around £42m in many large teams, and it’s not hard to see why, as at the age of 19, he has become a key member of the Ajax defensive setup.
Likewise, Guehi is the same for Crystal Palace, if not more important, making 44 appearances in all matches and winning the FA Cup with them this season, which makes his so-called £50 million valuation seem more reasonable.
But while both players are talented, another defender who might be a more exciting acquisition has now entered the frame: Ousmane Diomande.
According to the latest report by Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, Arsenal is competing with sports CP stars due to offside.
The report, along with the Gunners, revealed that London rival Chelsea is also keen to bring the Averian to the Premier League this summer.
While the report did not mention the cost of the centre-back, last month’s report said he currently has €80 million release clauses in his deal, about £68 million.
So crossing this line would be an expensive and potentially complex transfer, but given Diomande’s ability and comparisons with Saliba and Gabriel, this is what Arsenal should fight for.
Diomande compares with Saliba and Gabriel
So given how Arsenal’s sensational good defensive duo performed in the recent campaign, it’s undoubtedly a bold claim that suggests that Diormander is similar not only to one, but both.
But this was only proposed last season when esteemed analyst Ben Mattinson described it as “a hybrid between Gabriel and the Saliba people.”
Now, when it comes to his similarities to the former, you can look at the fact that the Brazilians are 6-foot-3 3 to their ability to score goals, while the sports stars find the Nets twice in 32 league games, and to the Gunners’ Titan get another shot in 28 games.
What about the French?
Well, interestingly, the most compelling argument is that the Abidjan-born star has similarities with former Saint-Etienne Ace from FBREF, which compares players with similar positions in the UEFA Champions League this season.
It then created a list of ten most comparable players for everyone who played the game and concluded that the Bondy-born Titans are the most similar centre-back to the sports ace.
The best way to understand this conclusion is to check some basic numbers for couples to carefully rank, such as non-season expected goals plus assists, progressive carry, delivery accuracy, expected assists, real-time interceptions, interceptions, interceptions, etc., all of which are in 90.
Dioamnde & Saliba |
||
---|---|---|
Statistics per 90 |
dioamnde |
Saliba |
Unexpected G+AS |
0.01 |
0.03 |
Progressive carrying |
0.36 |
0.36 |
Passing accuracy |
93.2% |
92.2% |
Expected assists |
0.01 |
0.01 |
Onsite pass |
58.8 |
56.5 |
Intercept |
0.96 |
0.91 |
All statistics passed FBREF’s 24/25 UCL season |
Finally, although Saliba is now three years old, he is also known as one of the most exciting defensive talents at the age of 21, so if he moves to the Emirates this summer, he will have some common experiences with sports.
Ultimately, it’s a lot of money, but because he’s much higher ratings and he’s compared to the two best players, Arsenal should do everything he can to sign Diomande this summer.
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