27yo summer signing is why Arteta wants Hincapie at Arsenal as reasoning explained
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been considering tweaking his defence after the signing of Eberechi Eze to allow more width, according to the Independent journalist Miguel Delaney.
He claimed in his ‘Inside Football’ bi-weekly newsletter on Monday evening that the Gunners want to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie to tweak things at the back.
Eze joined Arsenal over the weekend, and the versatility of the 27-year-old will come in handy given he can play on both wings and behind the striker.
However, Arteta believes his arrival should also give the North London club room for more width in the final third, which could also hugely benefit Viktor Gyokeres.
He wants to adjust some things at the back, and while his plans are unknown, signing Hincapie could see Arsenal decide to adopt a back-three centre-back system.
The Leverkusen star plays as the left-sided centre-back in a back-three and also as a left-back, but the Gunners have enough depth at left-back.
Arteta could now look to go with a 3-4-3 formation as long as it gets the best out of his attack and keeps them firing on all cylinders.
He will also look to retain the strength of his defence as they have had the best defensive record over the last two seasons, and Hincapie could be the solution.
Arsenal started the campaign with a 1-0 win at Manchester United and a 5-0 demolition of Leeds United at home, but the true test of their attack and defence will come against Liverpool on Sunday at Anfield.
They are likely to be without the attacking trio of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard for the trip, but they have Eze and others as options capable of stepping in.
The Gunners have done well to bolster their squad depth across all departments this summer, but it could now see Arteta make some changes to his playing style.
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