Merih Demiral of Juventus during the Serie A match between Juventus and Cagliari Calcio at Allianz Stadium on January 6, 2020 in Turin, Italy. (Getty Images)
According to Italian news outfit Calciomercato (h/t The Sun), Arsenal are the favourites to sign Juventus defender Merih Demiral should he leave the club in the summer.
Merih Demiral, 22, has endured a difficult season at Juventus since joining the club from Sassuolo in the summer. He has managed just seven appearances for Juventus this season. Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele Rugani, Matthijs de Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci are all ahead of the Turkish centre-half in the pecking order under manager Maurizio Sarri.
The 22-year-old hasn’t featured for the Turin giants since picking up a serious knee injury in the 2-1 away win at AS Roma on January 12 – a game in which he scored. He is expected to be sidelined until the summer and Arsenal want to bring him to the Premier League during the summer transfer window. (h/t The Sun)
A 2-0 victory over Portsmouth on Tuesday helped the Gunners progress to the quarter-finals the FA Cup, which did give the fans some relief considering the heartbreak they and Mikel Arteta’s team suffered last week after getting eliminated from the Europa League at the hands of Greek giants Olympiacos.
However, in the Premier League, Arsenal are in 9th position. The North London giants have been sloppy at the back throughout the campaign. David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have not been at their best, having already conceded 36 goals in the league so far.
Calum Chambers has been sidelined until the end of the season, leaving the Gunners with limited defensive options.
With the Gunners porous at the back, Arteta focused on reinforcing his defence in January by signing Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares from Flamengo and Southampton (on loan) respectively. Despite the addition of Mari, there’s still a lack of quality and depth in central defence.
Arteta should add more quality to the backline before the next season commences. And Juventus’ Merih Demiral would be a good fit at the Emirates Stadium.
A move to Juventus hasn’t simply worked out for Demiral but he has proved his quality before with Sassuolo. Due to Juventus boasting some of the best central defenders in the world, the 22-year-old has understandably struggled for game time under Sarri. But at the age of 22, the Turkish defender needs to play regularly to unlock his true potential and a move to Arsenal could help him with that.
Demiral is a young, promising defender with room to improve. He can develop his game under the watchful eyes of Arteta, who has shown a willingness to nurture young talents at Arsenal, as evident from him giving opportunities to Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Joe Willock.
Considering Arsenal’s long-standing defensive problems this season, Arteta should definitely sign a new centre-back in the summer after adding Mari in January. The club has been missing a solid young centre-back for some time and perhaps Demiral could be that man.
