Arsenal should start keeping tabs on Valencia right-back Cristiano Piccini
According to an earlier report from Turkish Football, West Ham were interested in signing Italian right-back Cristiano Piccini from his former club Sporting Lisbon. However, a move to the Premier League failed to materialize and Piccini completed a switch to La Liga outfit Valencia at the start of the ongoing season.
A youth product of Fiorentina’s academy, the 26-year-old failed to break into the first-team at his boyhood club due to stiff competition and spent time on loan at Spezia, Livorno and Real Betis, joining the latter permanently in 2015. Piccini thrived in the La Liga and subsequently had a stint with Sporting Lisbon before making a return to the Spanish top flight with Valencia.
Piccini has impressed with his consistent displays at the back this term and his fine form was rewarded with a senior international call-up for the UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Known for pace, skills and composure as a full-back, Piccini might not be at the top of the list of modern offensive-minded defenders but he is certainly a very useful player with his well-rounded attributes. While he doesn’t have a dazzling record of goals and assists, Piccini can be useful with his technical abilities, clever overlapping runs and inch-perfect deliveries into the box. He often uses his good close control and above-average dribbling skills to create chances from the wide areas.
Well, someone like Piccini is more of a solid presence at the back, where he uses his composure, tackling and positional sense to keep the opposition at bay. The Italian international doesn’t dive into challenges but he likes to get into the correct position to dispossess the opposition, whilst also showing the commitment to throw his body on the line to block goal-bound shots and crosses.
To put things into perspective, Piccini has shown enough promise at some of the top European leagues and Arsenal should strike a deal for him next summer in a bid to overcome their defensive problems.
Arsenal have done quite well on all fronts under Unai Emery this season but the Gunners have been hit hard by the recurrent injuries to several of their key players at the back. They signed Stephan Lichtsteiner at the start of the season to provide cover for Hector Bellerin at right-back but the 34-year-old has shown with his lacklustre performances that he is clearly past his prime.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Carl Jenkinson aren’t the sort of players that the Gunners can bank on for too long and they definitely need another quality option in their ranks.
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The Gunners need to reshape their squad in the summer ahead of the upcoming season and full-back is one area that is in need of investment. Arsenal currently have the worst defensive record amongst the top six clubs in the Premier League and it is a no-brainer that they should dip into the transfer window to bring in reinforcements at the back. That said, the north Londoners should start keeping tabs on the twice-capped Italian.
