Arsenal could sign Bayern defender Jerome Boateng for free

Bengaluru, Jan 5: Arsenal could be given a chance to improve their defence in January at a low price as German giants Bayern Munich are reportedly looking to offload Jerome Boateng.

As per reports in Germany, the Bundesliga holders are ready to let the former World Cup winner leave the club for free if any club matches his £196,000-a-week wages. The Bavarian giants were initially thought to want around £12.75million for the defender's services but have decided that they would not demand any transfer fee for the 31-year-old.

It was reported that Juventus was offered the services of the former German international on a similar deal back in the summer but Maurizio Sarri decided against it in the end. Now it is believed that Arsenal are one of the interested parties for the 31-year-old but his wage demands could prove to be the only stumbling block.

The Gunners desperately need bolstering in defence but £196,000-a-week is a bit too much for a defender like Boateng whose career is in decline.

Boateng would no doubt be a mainstay in the Arsenal defence should he make the switch to North London. Such is the scenario of the defence at Mikel Arteta's disposal that Boateng could become their key player in defence but Arsenal are in a situation where they should look at the bigger picture rather than the immediate impact. Boateng is already 31 years of age and would be only a short-term solution and that too not a world class one.

Every team faces a phase where they need to step back a bit and rebuild their squad and it is time for Arsenal to do exactly that. The Gunners squad right now is far from a competent one that could come up with a title challenge. The few world-class players they have are all either ageing or looking for an exit from the Emirates. In such a position, the club should look to assemble a team that would be mostly comprised of younger players who could give them long-term success.

In the past few years, Arsenal have signed some quality players at the dusk of their careers as short-term solutions like Sokratis Papastathopoulos or Stephan Lichtsteiner but the strategy has not worked. Signing Jerome Boateng would be another such mistake and Arsenal should avoid doing that right now.