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Arsenal star Piero Hincapié hailed as ‘great player’

By on October 18, 2025

Former Manchester United midfielder turned pundit Owen Hargreaves has hailed Arsenal star Piero Hincapié as a ‘great player’.

The Gunners decided to reinforce the left side of the defence by signing Riccardo Calafiori last year. However, he struggled with fitness problems last term; as a result, he couldn’t serve his club properly.

Oleksandr Zinchenko found himself out of favour, so Myles Lewis-Skelly got the chance to play regularly. Although he showed signs of his high potential, the 19-year-old also displayed inexperience, picking up two red cards in 15 Premier League starts last season.

Following Jakub Kiwior’s departure this summer, Arsenal opted to sign Hincapié to reinforce the left side of the defence. He is comfortable playing in the centre-back position as well as LB.

The left-footed defender has joined the North London club on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, and Arteta’s side have an obligation to make the move permanent next summer.

The Ecuadorian has played only one minute thus far this season before picking up a groin injury. Thankfully, he has returned to full training before this weekend’s Premier League fixture against London rival Fulham.

Pundit lauds Hincapié

On The Breakdown, Hargreaves says that the 23-year-old is a ‘great player’ and is capable of going straight into Arsenal’s starting XI amid Gabriel Magalhaes’ absence.

Moreover, the pundit claims that Arsenal have the best roster of centre-back options in the Premier League at the moment.

Hargreaves said:

“He’s a great player. Yeah, there’s another one that can go into that mix. Honestly, that’s the best collection of centre-backs in the whole league easily.”

Alongside Hincapié, Arsenal also purchased Cristhian Mosquera this summer. So, Arteta currently has the duo plus William Saliba and Gabriel as centre-back options.

Moreover, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, and Calafiori are capable of providing cover in the CB position, although Arteta mainly uses them as fullbacks.

Hincapié, valued at around £43m by Transfermarkt, has joined Arsenal, having enjoyed great success at BayArena, winning a Bundesliga title, DFB Pokal, and German Super Cup trophy. He is quick, technically sound, can play out from the back, and is also efficient in defensive contributions.

Although he hasn’t played many minutes thus far this season, he is expected to get involved more and become a key player over the coming months.