It became very clear during last season that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was losing faith in Per Mertesacker.
The ‘Big Reliable German’ was benched after a few errors and only Gabriel Paulista’s own incompetence let him back in.
Per Mertesacker is currently the vice-captain at the club but no-one is expecting to see him handed the armband now that Mikel Arteta is leaving.
But while he probably won’t head for the exit himself, Mertesacker’s days as Arsenal’s starting centre-back seem like they could be over.
The rumours doing the rounds seem to think that Lucas Hernandez could be the man to replace him.
Just 20-years-old and a product of the Atletico Madrid youth setup, Hernandez is under contract until 2019 meaning he won’t come cheap. That being said, he’s a defender, and for some reason they don’t really command the megabucks we see as we move further up the pitch.
Scoring goals has always been worth more to a transfer fee than stopping them, despite the obvious impact both have on winning or losing games.
Of course, it would be asking a lot to sign a 20-year-old from Spain and expect him to go straight into the side as a first-choice, but weirder things have happened.
In reality, however, with Laurent Koscielny not getting any younger either, Hernandez could well be one purchased to play with Gabriel and Calum Chambers in a few years rather than immediately, serving as back-up in the meantime.
That in itself offers problems. Will Hernandez be prepared to spend even more time on the bench than he did last season? In La Liga he played just 835 minutes over 10 appearances, he might not even get that at Arsenal if they defy tradition and keep people fit.
I guess that all depends on what he wants out of life and how hard he’s prepared to work to show that he would be far better utilised playing rather than watching.
Luckily for him, Arsenal’s centre-backs will always hold that door open for you.
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