Arsenal continue to be linked with plenty of new potential summer additions, despite having already enjoyed a fruitful window of extravagant purchases. It seems Mikel Arteta will stop at nothing to ensure his side topple Manchester City in the coming season.
Is Axel Disasi joining Arsenal?
Their latest transfer conquest is denoted through a report by The Sun, who suggested over the weekend that despite Manchester United's desperation to sign Axel Disasi, the Gunners are one of two clubs ready to hijack such a move with a late bid.
With it also suggested that AS Monaco may be open to selling, this has likely put plenty of Europe's elite on high alert given the pedigree of the star centre-back.
The French outfit will look to command a £34m fee for his services, despite the 25-year-old only being valued at €20.1m (£17m) by Football Transfers.
How good is Axel Disasi?
Whilst it is easy to assume that the acquisition of a defender will help make a side more solid, in the modern-day climate it often has much farther-reaching repercussions that span across the whole team.
After all, centre-backs nowadays often pride themselves on their ability to stride out from the back with confidence, showcasing their newfound technical finesse to pass into midfield or out wide.
Attacks are forged from the back four, and within Arteta's system, such a claim is only emphasised.
Inverting his full-backs helps them to control the midfield, and thus the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes become the first line of creativity, who must find a key operator in space who can then do the damage further up the field.
Fortunately, in Disasi, the Spanish head coach would obtain the perfect forward-thinking stalwart to underpin his philosophy.
Especially considering, when compared against other centre-backs across Europe, the France international sits in the top 4% for progressive carries and progressive passes per 90 and the top 7% for successful take-ons per 90, via FBref.
That's not to suggest he abandons his defensive duties though, as last term in Ligue 1 he maintained 1.5 interceptions and a mammoth 2.9 clearances per game too, via Sofascore. It is, therefore, no surprise to see him branded as a "complete & dominant CB" by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, given the latter figure would have ranked him third among Arsenal's squad last term.
With the 6 foot 3 ace striding into space, and boasting the requisite skillset to then find a man, someone of Declan Rice's quality, when dropping in to receive the ball, would surely benefit.
The England international has been evolving with each passing year at West Ham United, with last campaign seeing him bolster his creative figures. Six goal contributions and one key pass per game in the Premier League emphasise this (via Sofascore), which are figures only certain to improve under Arteta's tutelage.
With his new manager likely teaching him ways to operate between the lines he had never thought of, he could take his ball progression to new heights, especially with the quality of service Disasi would provide.
As someone who rarely accepts progressive passes, rather preferring to provide them himself, adding this facet to his game could see Rice become a truly world-class talent capable of propelling his new team to the title.
When compared against other midfielders across Europe, he ranks in the top 15% for progressive carries per 90, and the top 20% for progressive passes per 90. On the turn, the athletic 6 foot 1 star would be unstoppable, with the potential defensive signing in question set to kickstart the change that makes him a truly dominant and unplayable asset from the middle of the park.