This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
When speaking to Premier League Productions, Tim Sherwood has taken a dig at Arsenal’s recruitment, stating that they should have moved for Gary Cahill rather than David Luiz.
What did he say?
Arsenal signed David Luiz for £8m in the summer, with the hope that the former Chelsea man could help their defensive woes, having conceded 51 goals, the third-highest total in the top 10 last season.
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However, when speaking to Premier League Productions, via The Express, Sherwood questioned the Gunners’ recruitment team, claiming that Cahill would have been a far better choice for the club: “It wasn’t a hard job to go and find better defenders than what they already had. An easy job, just go out and do it. Try and patch it up, find something,
“Gary Cahill, he was an obvious choice. We’re talking about someone who’s a Premier League winner, a leader-type character, and they end up going and getting David Luiz.
“Now, I agree, good value [for] David Luiz, but go and find someone better. They needed to do that, they haven’t done it, the recruitment’s terrible, and at the moment they’re getting results that they deserve.”
A common opinion
This comment from Sherwood comes shortly after Lee Bowyer slammed Arsenal’s recruitment, claiming they should have used the £72m spent on Nicolas Pepe to help bring in Harry Maguire, with their defensive problems being a far more pressing issue than improving in attacking areas.
Luiz has been far from the perfect addition for Arsenal, as he has already given away two penalties in his first 10 league games for the club.
Meanwhile, Cahill hasn’t made a mistake that has led to a shot or goal this campaign for Crystal Palace, while he is also yet to give away a penalty.
This is perhaps telling in the defensive fortunes of Arsenal and Palace, with Luiz keeping 1 clean sheet and Cahill having 2.
The aforementioned records indicate that Cahill is the sturdier option of the two former Chelsea defenders, which accentuates Sherwood’s point that Arsenal would have been better off going for the English veteran.