Why Ousmane Diomande is perfect for Arsenal

21 minutes into Arsenal's fateful second leg tie with Sporting, the Emirates crowd hushed. You might assume that the home fans' noise was stifled by a goal for the Portuguese side. Yet Granit Xhaka had opened the scoring for the Gunners just two minutes earlier. Instead the collective silence was a result of 60,000 anxious Arsenal fans witnessing their starlet centre-back, William Saliba shuffle off the pitch with a back injury. As it happened, Saliba's deputy was already on the pitch. Although he was donning a green and white kit.

19 year-old, Ivorian defender, Ousmande Diomande only joined Sporting two months earlier, joining for €7.5 million. At the Emirates and throughout the second half of the season, Diomande showcased his abilities, suggesting he'd be the ideal deputy to Saliba for the right centre-back position at Arsenal.

Despite his supposed inexperience, Diomande was thrusted into a key match with his manager, Ruben Amorim's backing. And it's with good reason. The centre-back has impressed since making his debut for Leões in February.

First and foremost, Diomande is an excellent defender. With his sturdy 6'2 frame powerful gait, and ability to read when to challenge the opponent, the Ivorian is able to quickly and effectively dispossess attackers. His 2.1 tackles per 90 display this, placing Diomande in the top 11% for successful tackles among Primeira Liga centre-backs.

Alongside his destructive duel-winning abilities, Diomande is quick, especially in the first couple of strides, where he possesses an authoritative zip, in the same sort of mould to Virgil van Dijk. This allows Sporting to hold a high line in their 3-4-3 formation, with Diomande's speed helping to snuff out any potential counter attacks, as shown by his 1.26 tackles won in the middle third of the pitch, ranking him in the top 1% for Primeira Liga centre-backs.

Despite his controlled aggression and ability to regain possession, Diomande is responsible for 0.37 errors per 90, displaying an area of his defensive game that's raw and in need of some major improvement.

Overall however, his defensive capabilities are impressive. But Diomande's passing are what elevate him into a truly promising centre-back. While favouring his right-foot, he's comfortable on both, offering up more passing angles to evade pressure. His composure and eye for a pass, allow Diomande to attempt a staggering 90 passes per 90, which is in the top 2% of Primeira Liga centre-backs. These passes also tend to be penetrating, cutting through the opponent's lines, as shown by his 6.31 progressive passes (passes that move the ball at least 10 yards towards the opponent's goal line).

Diomande's also progressive with his dribbling, using his strong, sturdy frame to shrug off challenges, and a surprising fleet of foot to evade tackles. With his 1.96 progressive carries per 90, Diomande is among the top 5% centre-backs for carrying the ball out from the back.

Impressive as these stats are, they need to be placed in context. Firstly, Sporting are a superior team to the majority of their opponents in the Primeira Liga, allowing them, and as such, Diomande to dominate the ball. Secondly, by using a back three, the centre-back has more licence to venture forward with the knowledge that there are two covering centre-backs behind him.

To get a better idea of how Diomande would fit into Arsenal you can compare his metrics to those centre-backs currently in the squad. Diomande comes out on top for tackles made and tackles won per 90, making 0.6 more than second-place Gabriel, and around 0.5 more than Saliba and Holding. Diomande comes out on top for tackles made and tackles won per 90, making 0.6 more than second-place Gabriel, and around 0.5 more than Saliba and Holding.

Impressively, the Ivorian's passing metrics dwarf those of the Arsenal defenders. He attempts 22 more than second-placed, Holding, and boasts an accuracy that is only slightly peaked by Saliba. His 6.17 progressive passes per 90 is also close to double the total for all three Arsenal centre-backs. On top of that, Diomande manages 1.73 progressive carries per 90, compared to 0.5, the total of all three current Arsenal players.

The stand out qualities of the centre-back are his quick burst, aggression, and supreme passing and carrying qualities. This would also offer Mikel Arteta to play him in the right-back role that Ben White has held this season, or even the single pivot. Although how well Diomande would cope in midfield still remains to be seen.

While Diomande's stats are hugely promising they need to be caveated with the fact that the Ivorian plays in a back three, giving him more licence to progress the ball forward with carries and passes. Alongside that, the majority of Sporting's opponents are considerably weaker to the Lisbon-based club. In the Premier League the disparity is much less severe.

Yet, at 19, and with impressive performances against opposition in Europe, the chances are that Diomande would excel in English football. Arsenal fans hope that he'll be excelling at the Emirates, in particular.