Paul Merson Questions Arsenal's Pursuit of Leicester's Harry Maguire

With Leicester City's Harry Maguire linked with a move to Arsenal, former Gunners midfielder Paul Merson has expressed his belief that the English defender might not represent value for money.

The Leicester City defender turned heads after his impressive performances in the World Cup, sparking interest from a multitude of Premier League clubs.

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With Arsenal in defensive disarray, Merson believes that his former club might make an attempt to sign the man nicknamed 'Slab-Head'. However, whilst the Sky Sports pundit admits that the Gunners are in dire need of defensive recruitments, he is unsure whether Maguire is worth his price tag.

Speaking to the Sunday Express, Merson said: “I don’t know. I don’t think he will [fit the bill]. I’m not sure. He’s 100 times better than what they’ve got. But it would be £60m, £70m, £80m wouldn’t it. I think that’s a lot of money.

“It is [important] for Arsenal [to spend money on the defence], 100 per cent for Arsenal. They need to sort that out.

“I’m sure he [Emery] will have players up his sleeve. This manager is not silly, he’s been a good manager in Spain. He would have watched enough videos on Arsenal and known they weren’t good enough at the back and he will sort that out.

“Who knows, they might buy him [Maguire], they might. I’m not sure, he’s a lot of money.”

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Arsenal have the second worst defensive record in the top six, conceding 31 goals in 21 Premier League games. To put this into perspective, that is four more than the combined total of Manchester City and Liverpool. 

Therefore, the signing of Maguire would make a lot of sense. Standing at 6'4, the English defender would provide some much needed steel to Arsenal's back line and, as the nation saw at the World Cup, Maguire is a threat from set-pieces. 

However, with Leicester demanding a similar fee to what Liverpool paid for Virgil Van Dijk, the Gunners may be able to get better value for money elsewhere.

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Arsenal next face London rivals West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday. Having won just two of their last five league games, Unai Emery will be desperate to see his side notch three points and keep their top four dreams alive.