Ricky1985 wrote:
Regardless of whether Matip was a free transfer, he was and is a good player. Liverpool went out and bought Konate for big money because 2 good CBs isn't enough, and Gomez is often injured (and also not very good).
White, Gabriel and Saliba will push each other hard for the 2 spots. The competition will be brilliant for them and their development, and even better for Arsenal. I expect through a long season we'll see various combinations as their form and fitness varies, and I think the stuff about left and right side is way overplayed.
Matip was not first choice, he was backup for Gomez in their title and CL winning seasons, then Gomez got injured so they went out and bought another young defender in Konate, with Matip resuming his role as backup. Similar to Holding, if we were to compare.
Saliba and White are both players who would want to be first choice, I doubt either of them would be happy with sitting on the bench for prolonged periods, wheras Matip was more than happy to wait until Gomez got injured. I don't see the comparison at all. Not to mention Liverpool are winning titles, whereas we are struggling for top 4, players are more lenient when winning.
