South American football expert surprised Liverpool aren't trying to sign 'terrific' £52m star ahead of Arsenal

Arsenal completed the heist of the year by signing Eberechi Eze last week, but Mikel Arteta is still chasing further additions.

The Gunners have enjoyed a busy summer as Mikel Arteta looks to finally bring the Premier League title to the Emirates Stadium.

Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi were major additions, but the cherry on the cake was Eberechi Eze’s arrival from Crystal Palace.

Tottenham Hotspur were set to sign Eze in a huge move from Palace, only for Arsenal to swoop in at the last minute.

Eze was presented as an Arsenal player over the weekend and could make his debut against Liverpool this weekend.

That may not be the end of Arsenal’s spending, though, as Mikel Arteta now looks to bring in another defensive option.

Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images

Arsenal given strong Piero Hincapie verdict

Arsenal are now trying to sign Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, in another move to bolster the left side of Mikel Arteta’s back line.

Leverkusen are seeking around €60million (£52million) for Hincapie, meaning Arsenal may need to dig deep.

Jakub Kiwior is expected to join Porto, paving the way for a new left-sided defender to arrive.

Hincapie can play as a left-back or centre-back, meaning he will bring similar versatility to Kiwior and Riccardo Calafiori.

The 23-year-old has now spent four years with Bayer Leverkusen, developing into one of the Bundesliga’s top defenders.

South American football expert Tim Vickery has now given his view on Hincapie, telling Sky Sports that he thinks the defender is now a ‘terrific’ player.

Vickery admitted being unsure about Hincapie earlier in his career, but has been ‘proved wrong’ after seeing the Ecuadorian shine.

Vickery did admit his surprise, though, as he feels that Arsenal already have cover in Hincapie’s two main positions.

In fact, Vickery suggested that Liverpool could actually do with Hincapie amid their defensive issues this season, but it looks like he will be joining Arsenal instead.

“Hincapie is a left-footed defender, he’s a centre-back who can also play at left back as well,” said Vickery.

“He’s not a flyer up the wing kind of left back. He likes to bring the ball out of the defence. I remember the first time I saw him in Ecuador, they threw him in as a teenager, and I had had my doubts.

“I thought too spindly, maybe, and he’s got mistakes in him. It’s been great to be proved wrong, because he’s grown and grown and grown and really is a terrific defender.

“My little doubt here is, why would Arsenal want to spend so much for a player in this position when they have both Gabriel Magalhaes and Calafiori. So you’ve got cover there in both the positions that Hincapie offers. So it’s a little bit of a surprise to me why it’s Arsenal, and based on what we’ve seen so far in the season, I think you would have thought that this is a player that Liverpool could really do with,” he added.

Piero Hincapie can immediately make history at Ecuador

Liverpool have not emerged as a suitor for Hincapie, meaning Arsenal are unlikely to see him making a move to Anfield.

Arsenal look to be the most likely destination for Hincapie, and he would make history immediately upon his arrival.

Hincapie is in line to become the first Ecuadorian to ever play for Arsenal if he does join from Leverkusen.

30 nations have delivered just the one Arsenal player over the years, from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sead Kolasinac to Joel Campbell of Costa Rica, even Liberia’s Christopher Wreh.

Hincapie would join that list if he does join Arsenal, flying the flag for Ecuador as the South American nation continues to supply the Premier League with talent.

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