Mertesacker's Replacement? Arsenal On The Verge Of Centre Back Signing, Not Mustafi

With Per Mertesacker looking set to miss as much as five months of football action, Arsenal surely need to sign another centre back. And it appears Wenger agrees to this. Hence, we have been linked with the signing of a couple of centre backs ever since the news broke that Mertesacker's injury is long term.

First up was Shkodran Mustafi, but from all indications Arsenal, for whatever reason, have shifted their attention elsewhere in search of a centre back. According to a report by transfermarketweb, we may be on the verge of signing highly-rated Galatasaray central defender Semih Kaya.

The 25-year-old centre back has been linked with moves to both Atletico Madrid and Manchester United, but according to transfermarketweb, Arsenal are ready to beat the rest of the chasing pack to the signature of the Turkish international.

According to reports, Galatasaray have a £10m valuation on the player's head, which in my opinion shouldn't be too much for us to pay, especially bearing in mind his quality. With Mustafi rated at €25m, I simply can't see Wenger going for him. Unless he has changed overnight which isn't likely. Wenger is never going to pay above his valuation of a player; it is almost a fact now.

Having watched Semih Kaya play many times, I sincerely believe he will do well in the Premier League and, by signing him, for the reported £10 million price tag, we will have enough money in the bank to go after other targets such as Riyad Mahrez and Alexander Lacazette.

With Koscielny, Gabriel and now Rob Holding in the team, we really do not need to spend big money on a centre back. Semih Kaya will be good enough in my opinion, if he adapts to the pace and style of the English Premier League.

For me, the signing of a centre back is important, but not as important as signing a world class striker and a wing forward. Mertesacker didn't play much last season and yet we weren't really poor defensively. We should be fine with the addition of someone like Kaya, but we need goals, tons of goals, Hence, signing Mahrez and Lacazette will make a lot of sense.