Arsenal opens talks with PSG left-back Layvin Kurzawa as defensive injury crisis continues
Arsenal are in talks to sign Layvin Kurzawa, the Paris Saint-Germain left-back, as they look to bolster Mikel Arteta’s defensive options for the second half of the campaign.
Kurzawa is out of contract in the summer but Arsenal hope to complete a deal this month for the 27-year-old, who has made 12 appearances for France.
The full-back has fallen out of favour at PSG this season, making just eight starts in all competitions as Juan Bernat has become the first-choice option on the left side of the defence.
His arrival at Arsenal would provide a short-term solution for their current defensive crisis, which has left Arteta without a recognised full-back for this weekend’s meeting with Sheffield United.
In the long-term, though, Arsenal would have three left-backs competing for one position. The move for Kurzawa follows the £25 million signing of Kieran Tierney, now injured until March, who joined from Celtic in the summer.
As well as Tierney, there are also injuries to Sead Kolasinac, Calum Chambers and Hector Bellerin ahead of the visit of Sheffield United to the Emirates.
Arteta is once again set to turn to teenage winger Bukayo Saka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, nominally a midfielder, to fill the full-back positions.
“We are playing with full-backs that are not full-backs,” Arteta said. “They are wingers or central midfielders.”
Arsenal do not plan to invest heavily in the January transfer window but, as reported by the Daily Telegraph last week, they have been keen to add a midfielder and defender this month.
Kurzawa has struggled with injuries since he joined PSG from Monaco in 2015 for around £20 million. He has shown his attacking ability at times, not least when he became the first defender to score a Champions League hat-trick when PSG beat Anderlecht in 2017.
Meanwhile, Shkodran Mustafi has said he has been affected by the criticism of his performances in recent years.
Mustafi could still leave Arsenal this winter, even though Arsenal are short of centre-backs, although Arteta has said the “ideal scenario” is for no more defenders to depart.
Speaking to Arsenal’s website, Mustafi revealed how the pressure on defenders is magnified by mistakes.
"As a central defender you have a lot of pressure, but then you make this mistake and suddenly the pressure becomes even more," Mustafi said.
"To handle this pressure is not always easy. As a central defender you have to do your job perfectly to just have a normal game.
"When you win all your tackles, when you win everything on the pitch but then make one mistake that you're punished for, it destroys everything that you did before. This is something that makes this position so hard.
"It affects you, too. After the game of course you're disappointed because nobody is happy making mistakes, but when I made a mistake and we conceded a goal from it I would go into the dressing room and I'd be disappointed to let my team-mates down. This is the first thing.”
