Arsenal lost out on Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, as he agreed to join Manchester City for a fee of £20m.
The Gunners were linked with a surprise move for Guehi, which many didn’t expect as the Gunners already have the likes of William Saliba, Gabriel, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera at centre-back.
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However, it was understood that Arsenal rate Guehi very highly, and so they were hoping to take the chance to sign him, considering the low cost, and his Premier League experience. However, Guehi has joined Man City, as Pep Guardiola has had a lot of defensive injuries recently.
Arsenal will now need to consider alternative targets, and there is a name in Italy who is very much under the radar, but his stats are better than Guehi’s.
Arsenal should sign Udinese star Solet instead
If the Gunners are looking for a solid centre-back, who is good on the ball, like Guehi, they should look no further than Udinese defender Oumar Solet.
We put Guehi into DataMB’s Player comparison tool, and Solet was recommended as having similar stats to the former Crystal Palace defender. Solet actually has better numbers this season with regards to passing, and winning possession, which, considering Guehi’s ability, shows just how underrated he is.
The best thing about Arsenal going after Solet, is that the 25-year-old is slightly younger than Guehi, and he is cheaper, as he has a market value of just £17m.
Furthermore, he is out of contract at the end of next season, so Udinese could be keen to cash in on him now, which may reduce his price tag even more.
It remains to be seen if Arsenal were really intent on signing another centre-back, or if they just wanted to try and get Guehi specifically, but, if they do want another reliable defensive option, then Solet would be the ideal option as an alternative to Man City’s newest signing.
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