Recent reports emerged that Arsenal are keen on making a move on Real Valladolid’s Ivan Fresneda. The 18-year-old right back broke into the first team of Real Valladolid only this season and has been impressing everyone with his performances.
One of the highlights of the season was his performance against Real Madrid, especially when going up against Vinicius Jr. We all know how good Vinicius Jr. is, he is a very fluid dribbler and has the Brazilian monster in him. However, when Fresneda went up against Vinicius, he locked him down almost entirely. Vinicius Jr was able to complete only 1 out of the 9 dribbles he attempted.
Fresneda is a special talent, he is fairly tall at 6’0 feet high and is a very agile player, a combination that is rare in a right back. This helps him when he goes up against agile wingers such as Vinicius. Fresneda has the ability to take small touches and this combined with his agility makes him a very good player when in possession, he can carry the ball for longer periods of time and will be able to dribble past players very easily. Players who use small touches to progress with the ball are often very tough to go up against especially in 1v1 scenario’s.
When defending, Fresneda is patient and very composed, which is crucial when going up against world-class players, his height also allows him to be more dominant, especially in the air. He can read the opposition very well and can cancel out a lot of plays that could be very dangerous.
Fresneda’s profile for a right back is highly impressive and there’s no doubt that he is a special talent, the maturity he shows even at the age of 18 is rare and that’s what makes him special. It is worth noting that Fresneda, with his agility, ability to progress with the ball, patience and discipline in positioning also makes him a good midfielder. Fresneda’s addition would be like having another Zinchenko operating on the right hand side.
Ben White became Arsenal’s primary right back mainly due to how well he developed under Arteta to become the right back that Arteta wanted. Discipline in positioning, controlled aggression are the key traits that White had to develop and Fresneda already has these abilities along with other traits that suit our squad such as technical security and creativity when going and playing forward. He is the perfect man to perform Arsenal’s right back duties when White is being rested or maybe out due to an injury.
Arsenal will get a very good player in Ivan Fresneda if they manage to sign him.
