Potential Transfer Target Gary Cahill Could Be Good Stop-Gap Signing For Arsenal

According to The Sun on Christmas Eve, Arsenal are leading the race to to sign veteran Chelsea defender Gary Cahill.

For me, I think it would be a very worthwhile move for The Gunners if they are indeed interested in the former England internationalist.

I think Arsenal are in the need for at least one new central defensive during this January transfer window.

Gunners coach Unai Emery has said as much to Sky Sports earlier this month:

“I think if we can take one player to help us at centre-back, I think it’s a good option.”

The big reason for this is the fact that Arsenal have had injury issues within their backline. That’s a big problem if your preferred formation includes playing with three at the back.

Club captain Laurent Koscielny has just returned from a serious achilles injury and it will take time for him to get up to speed. The Frenchman may also be reaching that period in his career where he can’t play two games in a week, and Arsenal will be hoping that they can have a successful run in the Europa League this term.

Rob Holding managed to come into the team and looked accomplished but unfortunately for the youngster he’s now out for the season with a knee ligament injury.

Twenty-one year old Greek centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos looked a very good prospect when he came into the team last season but he’s not played at all this term due to a groin problem. The young defender should be back soon but he’ll probably need time to get back into the swing of things.

German World Cup winner Shkodran Mustafi has missed the last four Gunners games due to a sore hamstring.

These injuries have meant that Emery has had to move back to a flat back four, with left-back Nacho Monreal filling in as a centre-half playing alongside Sokratis.

Now bringing in Gary Cahill could really help Arsenal in this situation as the North London side look to break back into the top four.

The thirty-three year old has a vast amount of Premier League experience and he’s a winner too; he’s helped Chelsea win two top flight titles, an FA Cup, League Cup, a Europa League and a Champions League winners medal.

Gary is also capable of playing in a back three and has done so with both Chelsea and England.

Now while Cahill has only managed one substitute appearance in the league so far this term, he’s started in four Europa League games. When you look at his stats on Whoscored, Gary’s passing stats look particularly good. In those four European games, Cahill has a 93.4% passing success rate and he’s doing that while averaging 75.8 passes per outing.

During his last few years at Stamford Bridge, he’s consistently in the eighties when it comes to his passing success rates.  We all know Emery likes to play the ball out from the back and have defenders that are efficient with their passes. Cahill would fit into that style.

The former Bolton Wanderers man is also a smart defender and he’s very strong in the air. Save this season, Gary Cahill has played in over twenty Premier League games in every campaign since 2008-09. That shows us that he isn’t prone to injuries.

So if Unai Emery and Arsenal can bring in Gary Cahill for a nominal fee, then he’d be a very worthwhile signing because he’s an experienced leader who can play from the back and keep the ball out of his team’s penalty area.

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