Arsenal cannot afford to miss out on signing this 27-year-old gem with £31m release clause – Here is why

Arsenal Opinion: Kostas Manolas would be an absolute gem of a signing for the Gunners

According to Daily Mail, Arsenal are interested in signing Greek international centre-back Kostas Manolas from Serie A outfit AS Roma in the summer.

The Daily Mail understands that the Gunners are considering a move to trigger Manolas’ £31 million release clause at the end of the season, with reports claiming that the 27-year-old would be allowed to leave in a cut-price deal.

Manolas, however, is not the only centre-back to have been linked with Arsenal over the last couple of days, with the Gunners also chasing Gremio’s Argentinian international defender Walter Kannemann. (h/t Sun)

If the move does materialize, Manolas would team up with his compatriots Konstantinos Mavropanos and Sokratis at the Emirates. The 27-year-old Greek international was also courted heavily by Man United earlier in the season, although a deal never materialized. (h/t Daily Mail)

Manolas rose to prominence in his homeland with AEK Athens and Olympiacos before earning a move to the Serie A with AS Roma back in 2014.

He hasn’t looked back since then and has gradually established himself as one of the best centre-backs in European football, making a total of 206 appearances for the Giallorossi in all competitions till date. A full international for Greece since 2013, the 27-year-old has earned a total of 39 caps for his nation at the senior international level.

To put things into perspective, it is not difficult to see why Arsenal would strike gold with the acquisition of Kostas Manolas in the summer and it would be nothing but a masterstroke from Unai Emery to team up the highly-rated 27-year-old with his compatriots in north London.

The Gunners are in dire need of bolstering their defensive options after conceding as many as 51 goals in the Premier League alone this season and Manolas will help them improve massively in that aspect.

Standing at 6ft. 2 inches with a towering frame, Manolas is held in high regard for his all-around abilities as a centre-back. There are very few defenders in Europe who combine the virtues of an old-school centre-back and a modern-day dynamic ball-playing centre-back, and Manolas is one of those.

While the Greek international is adept at imposing his authority inside the box with his physicality and aerial prowess, he is very fast and agile for a player of his stature, which allows him to deal effectively with a wide spectrum of attackers.

Calm and composed in possession and blessed with incredible game reading ability, Manolas not only excels with his ability to play out from the back effortlessly but he also positions himself perfectly to negate the danger posed by the opposition with crucial tackles and interceptions.

Manolas has got the agility and awareness to play in a high defensive line, as well as the versatility, discipline and the composure to sit back deep inside his own box and absorb the pressure.

Arsenal need to find a replacement for long-standing captain Laurent Koscielny, 33, who has struggled with injuries this term while getting rid of error-prone Shkodran Mustafi should also be high on Emery’s to-do list.

Rob Holding showed strong signs of promise before being sidelined with a long-term injury and it remains to be seen what the future holds for him.

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Suffice to say, the Greek international is amongst the most underrated centre-backs in Europe and he would be an instant upgrade on all of Arsenal’s existing options at the back. And £31 million for him is certainly a massive bargain.