Europa League: 3 Napoli players Arsenal wished they had

Ahead of tonight's Europa League match between Arsenal and Napoli, we are going to take a look at three players the Gunners wish they had in their side.

Make no mistake, the current Arsenal side is still very strong, but there are certain aspects to the squad that could do with improvements, particularly where the defence is concerned. Players like Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi have been poor this season, so they could be set for the exit door this summer.

As for Napoli, their side is decent but most of their players are just above average, nothing more. And with so many top European clubs hunting down their star players, they could be even worse off by the beginning of next season.

#3 Kalidou Koulibaly

Kalidou Koulibaly is a 27-year-old centre-back who has represented Senegal 32 times since making his debut in September 2015. Koulibaly did initially play for France's U20 team but ultimately decided to go with Senegal after four years with the former side.

Koulibaly is easily Napoli's best defender and is arguably one of the best in the world right now, hence interest from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He has featured in 26 matches for Napoli so far this season and kept clean sheets in 13 of them (50%).

Arsenal would be right to be interested in the Senegalese giant, as he would be a complete rock at the back, potentially replacing the ageing Koscielny to work alongside Rob Holding. His brute strength and surprising turn of pace would work wonders in the Premier League for the Gunners.

The only thing that might put them off, though, is Koulibaly's £65m price tag. It's a lot of money to spend on one player, but with all he's proven so far for Napoli, it could be a gamble worth taking.

#2 Lorenzo Insigne

Lorenzo Insigne is a 27-year-old left winger for Napoli and has also featured for Italy's national team 30 times since making his debut back in September 2012.

Quick and agile, Insigne constantly puts defenders on the backfoot. Alongside the left winger role he primarily takes up, Insigne can also be deployed as a second striker, a position in which he is deadly. His pin-point shooting accuracy is enough to scare the opposition into tightening up as much as possible at the back, lest he gets a hold of the ball.

He would be superb out on the left flank in place of Alex Iwobi, who has struggled this season. Before, Arsenal had Alexis Sanchez out on the wing, but after his departure to Manchester United, the Gunners didn't take the time to replace him and have paid the price.

However, how realistic a transfer for Insigne to Arsenal would be is questionable, given his price tag of £70m - which would likely rise to about £80m, judging from just how well he has played this season. Napoli would be very hesitant to lose him, hence the price spike.

#1 Mario Rui

Mario Rui is a 27-year-old left back for Napoli who has also featured for Portugal eight times since his debut in March 2018.

No doubt about it, the left-back role is one that Arsenal have struggled to fill for some time now. They thought they had solved the problem when they signed Kolasinac, but he has proven to be inconsistent and unreliable in big matches.

A player like Mario Rui would be of huge benefit to Arsenal given how well he has played in the Serie A this season. He is both agile and alert, which makes him able to clock onto potential dangers before anyone else. He's often seen darting across to a danger zone and intercepting through-balls because of his positional awareness. This is something the Gunners could certainly do with.

Rui is also the cheapest option on this list at £13.5m. Napoli would probably hike that value up to about £20m, with considerations made to how important he is to their first team, but this would be well within Arsenal's transfer budget so would be a perfect transfer.