After the departure of club captain Laurent Koscielny in the summer, it was unsurprising to see Arsenal target a new centre-back before the close of the window. A deal for St Etienne’s William Saliba saw him head back on loan to the French side for the campaign, and so further reinforcements for the here and now were needed.

And in a shock move that got completed on deadline day, David Luiz crossed the London border from rivals Chelsea to join up with the Gunners. The Brazilian has had a rough time of things in his early months as a Gunners player, with Mohamed Salah no doubt a recurring theme of his nightmares after the Liverpool winger tore him apart at Anfield with two goals.

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But recent weeks have seen him step up to the plate, particularly under Mikel Arteta. His leadership skills have been his most redeeming feature, constantly being seen barking instructions and shouting words of encouragement to his less experienced teammates. Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs even hailed him as a “born leader”. Now, £8m doesn’t seem so bad. And that’s exactly why the Gunners should not turn their noses up at Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng.

Sky Sports have suggested that Arsenal have enquired about the 6 foot 4 centre-back over a possible move in the January transfer window. At 31, and appearing to have fallen out of favour in Bavaria (he has played just 15 times this season), a swoop doesn’t seem so particularly appealing. Boateng is also a man with a history of injury problems, and the Gunners have already had their fair share of bad luck when it comes to that with the likes of Calum Chambers and Rob Holding recently.

But at the £12.8m that Bayern are supposedly demanding, the Gunners would be getting someone who has won the lot in world football. Not just domestically, but at international level too. He has won the World Cup with Germany, the Champions League at Munich, and seven Bundesliga titles too. It’s a decorated record that puts him in an elite group of players.

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And quite crucially, it means he is perfectly in tune with the winning mentality Arteta has admitted he needs to build at the Emirates.

“I think winning brings togetherness and, when you have beautiful experiences together and you win trophies, then those experiences stay within that group. You become addicts to that and that’s what we have to try to implement at this football club.”

Luiz has already shown he is becoming a big part of the dressing room with his influential voice. Boateng could have a similarly inspirational effect even if he may not be the perfect answer on-the-pitch. Sometimes, there are other important factors to consider than just someone’s footballing abilities. And whilst the German has aged, the level of experience and winning intent he has built up, makes him the ideal fit for Arteta’s demands.

Meanwhile, this early setback should force Mikel Arteta into taking a tough stance with Raul Sanllehi and Edu.