Steve Sidwell Tips Arsenal to Sign Man Utd Defender Eric Bailly Amid Gunners Defensive Crisis
Former Arsenal youth team star Steve Sidwell has backed his old club to complete the unlikely signing of Manchester United defender Eric Bailly this month, as Unai Emery seeks defensive reinforcements to bolster his depleted defence.
Following injuries sustained to Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papastathopoulos in the 3-1 FA Cup loss to Manchester United, Arsenal's defence is threadbare - with Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding both sidelined with long-term injuries.
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According to Gunners academy graduate turned Sky Sports pundit Sidwell, Bailly could be in line for a surprise move to the Emirates, following the Ivorian's struggle to impress under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“We’ve seen them do deals before,” he told Sky Sports (as quoted in the Star.)
"We’ve seen [Robin] Van Persie, [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, [Alexis] Sanchez, so I wouldn’t say no," said Sidwell speaking about the likelihood of the defender switching allegiances to rivals Arsenal.
“I think with Bailly, I look at him, I feel sorry for him at times.
“It was just the inconsistency with how he played. He had some outstanding games when you’re watching him the next time, he’d be really poor.
“I think the times that he has been poor he’s just been overexposed."
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Midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been filling in at the back for Arsenal in recent weeks and Emery could utilise the loan market to add numbers to his squad - with Gary Cahill another name linked.
Bailly joined United for a fee of around £34m in 2016 under Jose Mourinho but has failed to impress in just eight outings this term. However, despite Sidwell's backing, a deal with Arsenal seems unlikely with reports indicating that the Red Devils have already rejected an approach.
