Things were so bad under Unai Emery at Arsenal that Mikel Arteta doesn’t have to do much to improve on what the fans have seen so far this season.
It’s maybe a bit much to suggest he’s got a free ride for the rest of the campaign, but it does feel like the next few months will be used to prepare and build for next season.
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That’s not to say he won’t look to improve his squad this month, if anything it sounds like he’s looking to bring plans forward and possibly add a new left back:
Info @RMCsport: #Arsenal opened discussions with Layvin #Kurzawa free in June. The PSG player has a proposal for a contract in June. Arteta validated the track. If the need arises, Arsenal could even make an offer to #PSG at the end of the january market
— Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) January 15, 2020
The left-back spot is a weakness just now, Kieran Tierney should still prove to be the long term answer at the position if he can stay fit, but he’s barely been available this season.
Sead Kolasinac hasn’t convinced, so it’s led to a lot of forward thinking players being deployed out of position at wing back. It’s hard to tell if adding the Frenchman just now would be enough to transform them this season, but it would allow him time to settle in ahead of next year.
Kurzawa hasn’t established himself as a true first choice at PSG, but he always looked solid at Monaco and his height is useful from set-pieces, so he could be a good signing.