Why Arsenal must sign £55m defender instead of Konsa or Stones

When Arsenal take to the field against Coventry for their first match of the new Premier League season next month it’s likely they will do so with a weakened squad.

Declan Rice looked utterly exhausted at the World Cup and requires time off while Bukayo Saka’s fitness has also raised concerns.

They are also likely to be without William Saliba who hobbled off during France’s semi-final defeat to Spain with a back injury. The diagnosis is not yet clear but it is widely expected he will not be fit for that clash with the newly promoted side.

As a result, Mikel Arteta is seeking solutions and one way of replacing the Frenchman could be to dip his toes into the transfer market. A few familiar faces have already been linked.

How Arsenal could replace Saliba

The simple fact of the matter is that trying to replace Saliba, one of the game’s premier defenders, will not be easy in the slightest.

While Gabriel Magalhaes earned all the plaudits last term for his goalscoring heroics, his partner in the crime at the back was equally as impressive.

He is certainly one of the best centre-backs in the land but the Gunners do have some internal solutions.

Piero Hincapie has signed on a permanent deal now while Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Ben White are all also capable of filling is as a centre-half. Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera was also pretty good in a crisis last season.

If Arteta and Andrea Berta want to explore the transfer market to replace Saliba then there are a few options they could look at. Arsenal are thought to be exploring a move for John Stones. The Englan defender is now a free agent after leaving Manchester City behind.

Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa is also on their radar but that could be an expensive move to pull off. The early word is that Arsenal and the Villans do not have same valuation of the player. Another Morgan Rogers situation may well play out there.

Despite that, Konsa and indeed Stones would be the definition of plug and play options. They would be excellent stop gaps for the injured Saliba.

However, there is a better option on the market.

Arsenal’s perfect Saliba replacement could cost £55m

In Stones, Arsenal would be signing a Premier League and Champions League winner, a player with 94 England caps to his name. He is one of the best defenders the Three Lions have ever had.

However, as good of a stop gap as he could be, he is now 32 and his injury history isn’t the greatest. From a quality point of view, he’s a brilliant Saliba replacement but there is no guarantee he will be able to stay fit and play a consistent part.

Konsa is Premier League proven, not quite as much as Stones, but the World Cup did showcase that the Villa star has some limitations. He looked nervy at times, unable to efficiently play out from the back and caught out in transitions. That’s not what you want from a Saliba replacement.

Instead, Maxence Lacroix could be just the man they need. talkSPORT journalist Ben Jacobs revealed at the weekend that Arsenal have started talks with Crystal Palace regarding the centre-back to make an enquiry with regards to what it may take to get a deal done. £55m is the number they have been quoted.

It’s a hefty price to pay but the Eagles have pointed to the £52m that Tottenham Hotspur paid for Jan Paul van Hecke.

Also being pursued by Chelsea this summer, it will not be an easy deal to pull off but it would surely be worth it for a 26-year-old who has just enjoyed the best season of his career.

Like Stones and Konsa, he’s Premier League proven and he’s now entering his prime years. One attribute, his aerial ability, tells you precisely why he could fit into this Arsenal team like a glove.

We all know the Gunners love a set-piece and compared to Konsa, his threat when the ball is in the air is sublime.

Lacroix won 3.44 aerial duels per 90 minutes last season, enough to rank him among the top 8% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for that metric. Konsa, on the other hand, won just 0.89. It’s clear that the Crystal Palace defender is one of the best headers of a ball on the continent.

That should be music to the ears of not just his potential new centre-back partner in Gabriel but also to Declan Rice and Nicolas Jover, the club’s set-piece experts.

£55m seems like a lot to pay for back-up centre-back but there can be no doubting that he would be a better signing than both Stones and Konsa.