Image credit: Getty Images
Bayer Leverkusen manager Erik ten Hag has admitted it “hurts” to see Piero Hincapie leave the club as the Ecuadorian defender edges closer to completing a move to Arsenal.
The 23-year-old is set to become Arsenal’s eighth signing of a busy summer transfer window, joining on a season-long loan with an option to buy for a total package worth €52 million.
Hincapie, who is capable of playing both as a left-back and a left-sided centre-half, was left on the bench for Leverkusen’s Bundesliga clash with Werder Bremen on Saturday as his transfer neared completion.
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“Letting good players leave always hurts,” Ten Hag said. “But we also have other good players and they then need to take on that task.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has called for “spirit and conviction” from his players as the Gunners prepare for a blockbuster Premier League clash against champions Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Piero Hincapie
Piero Hincapie (Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal have not won a league match at Anfield since 2012, when Arteta himself was in the starting XI, but head to Merseyside buoyed by a strong start to the campaign and reinforced by new arrivals, including £68 million signing Eberechi Eze.
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“Liverpool are the champions and they are the champions because they deserved to be,” Arteta said. “They were the better team last year, the most consistent team, and the one that found ways to win in many different ways. But we want to be that team this year.
“We need to go to Anfield with that spirit and that conviction, and just be convinced that we can go there and win.”
Arteta will, however, be without Bukayo Saka, who sustained a hamstring injury in Arsenal’s 5-0 victory over Leeds last weekend. The England winger’s absence could open the door for Eze to make his first start since joining from Crystal Palace earlier this summer.
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