​Arsenal Initially Had No Plans to Sign Eze & Hincapié, But Director Bertie Insisted on Increasing Investment

November 7 – In a recent column by Ryan Taylor, Arsenal correspondent for football.london, the writer discussed the summer signing of Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié from Bayer Leverkusen and the steady defensive performances he has delivered since joining the club.  

Below are the key points from the column:  

Hincapié’s start to life at Arsenal has been somewhat stop-start, but the tough Ecuadorian international defender is now poised to play a crucial role in the club’s pursuit of success across four competitions. The 23-year-old center-back – who is equally comfortable at left-back – helped the Gunners secure their eighth consecutive clean sheet across all competitions on Tuesday, with all eight matches ending in victories. Following the shutout against Slavia Prague in the Czech capital, Arsenal have now broken the club record previously set by George Graham’s side in 1987.  

Only two other English clubs in history have matched this record (Liverpool in 1920 and Preston North End in 1889). Now, Mikel Arteta’s ambitious squad will aim to make history once again this Saturday in their Premier League away fixture against Sunderland, as they chase a ninth consecutive clean sheet. Remarkably, Arsenal have not conceded a goal in 12 hours and 56 minutes of play since falling behind to a Walter Mad goal in their 2-1 win over Newcastle at St. James’ Park in late September – a streak that looks set to continue.  

In the match against Slavia Prague, Hincapié also set a personal record – winning all eight of his duels. He is the first Arsenal player in the past ten seasons to achieve a 100% success rate in eight or more duels in a European match. Arteta praised his robust performance after the game: “He was outstanding, showing great dueling ability and high efficiency. He has gradually built up his minutes over the past week with two matches.” The versatile warrior’s displays have even earned him a new chant from the traveling Arsenal supporters – he is the first Ecuadorian player in the club’s history.  

Moreover, no Arsenal player under Arteta this season has surpassed Hincapié’s duel success rate (80% won from 20 duels). Although Riccardo Calafiori has featured in all ten Premier League matches this season, Hincapié has gradually overtaken young talent Lewis-Skelly to become the Italian’s primary backup.  

The deadline-day signing was strongly advocated by Sporting Director Bertie, though it is understood that Arteta has also been tracking the South American’s development in the Bundesliga for several years. Internally, the club believed their summer transfer business was complete before the moves for Ebere Eze and Hincapié, but Bertie pushed the recruitment plan aggressively, persuading the board to fully utilize financial resources and continue investing to complete these two high-profile signings.  

Despite the complexities surrounding the potential departure of Ukrainian international Oleksandr Zinchenko (who eventually joined Nottingham Forest in the summer window), Bertie insisted on pushing through the transfer of the Ukrainian international at any cost as the window drew to a close. At the same time, he negotiated Hincapié’s deal with Leverkusen – the German club had been determined not to sell after renewing the player’s contract in December 2024. The Italian director, who had previously attempted to sign Hincapié during his time at Atlético Madrid, eventually persuaded Leverkusen to agree to a loan-with-obligation-to-buy deal (loan fee of £45 million), which is highly likely to be activated at the end of the season.  

With Takehiro Tomiyasu’s contract mutually terminated, Bertie insisted on adding depth to Arsenal’s left-side defense and secured Zinchenko’s loan move to Nottingham Forest at the last minute – after negotiations with Marseille had stalled. These strategic moves could prove decisive in shaping the club’s success at the end of the season.  

Source: football.london