da mrbet： Earlier this week, Inter Milan agreed a £25million deal for Monaco midfielder Geoffery Kondogbia, as confirmed by BBC Sport, which should be of huge disappointment to Arsenal fans.
da dobrowin： The Gunners midfield is calling out for a physical, defensive presence and the 6 foot 2 France international seemed like the perfect candidate through his strength, height and positional awareness.
Adding physicality to the engine room should still be one of Arsene Wenger’s leading priorities in the transfer market this summer, however, with it’s current lack of seemingly one of the biggest differences between the north London outfit and Premier League title holders Chelsea.
So being the ever-helpful bunch we are at Football Fancast, we’ve listed the FIVE midfielders the Emirates gaffer MUST target during the transfer window if the Gunners are to claim the English crown in the coming campaign.
Would signing one of these FIVE bring Arsenal closer to claiming next season’s Premier League title?
MORGAN SCHNIEDERLIN
He’s the go-to suggestion with good reason; through his mixture of height, strength, defensive awareness and consistency on the ball, Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin seems like the perfect remedy to Arsenal’s deficiencies in midfield.
And with the exception of Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic, there hasn’t been a more consistent enforcer in the Premier League over the last three campaigns, with the France international amassing a rather incredible 274 tackles and 270 interceptions in 95 top flight outings. That equates to 5.7 ball-winning actions per match.
The 6 foot 2 former Strasburg youngster is also tidy in possession, however, this term averaging the most passes per match – with a completion rate of 89% – of any player in the Southampton squad, suggesting he won’t look too out of place in a Gunners midfield that passes teams to death on a regular basis.
After almost forcing his way out of St. Mary’s last summer, Schneiderlin is near-certain to leave the south coast in the current transfer window. The Saints allegedly value him at £25million – but according to The Daily Mail, Arsene Wenger is reluctant to pay up.
WILLIAM CARVALHO
Arsenal have already launched a £28.5million bid for William Carvalho according to The Sun and it’s not hard to see why.
The Portugal international is rated as one of the most promising holding midfielders in Europe, measuring in at 6 foot 2, weighing in excess of 14 stone and famed for his simple-yet-effective playbreaking style.
The Sporting Lisbon star was a pivotal performer as the Portugal U21’s recorded a 1-0 victory over the Junior Lions at the European Championship last week and he’s clearly well above that level. He impressed in the Champions League earlier this season too, averaging 2.2 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and 1.8 successful aerial duels per match from six outings.
In terms of physicality, he represents exactly what the Gunners currently lack at the base of midfield. But if there’s one notable criticism, it’s that the 23 year-old limited technical ability could see him struggle in a Gunners side enthused by a tiki-taka philosophy.
Grzegorz Krychowiak
Grzegorz Krychowiak is already a notable fixture on the Arsenal radar with Arsene Wenger allegedly viewing him as a cheaper alternative to Morgan Schneiderlin.
The Poland international has been in sensational form since joining Sevilla from Reims via a €4.5million deal last summer, going on to average 3.3 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2.1 clearances and 3.4 successful aerial duels per match in La Liga in addition to helping Los Rojiblancos claim a second consecutive Europa League title.
He’s an old-fashioned screener – almost a third centre-back in front of the back four through his defensive qualities and physicality – and should plug up those gaps on the counter-attack that continually plagued Arsenal at the start of last season.
Krychowiak’s untested in the Premier League and the Champions League, but the rapidity in which the 25 year-old has upped his game for Sevilla suggests he could well adapt to the standards at Arsenal with relative ease.
His release clause is reported to stand at £23.5million.
Arturo Vidal
Due to the sudden rise of Francis Coquelin, the physical addition to Arsenal’s engine room doesn’t necessarily have to be a holding player. Juventus star Arturo Vidal – a classic goalscoring box-to-box – would also add some much-needed athleticism to the north London outfit’s midfield.
He’s emerged as one of the most complete centre-mids in world football since joining the Old Lady from Bayer Leverkusen in summer 2011, boasting power, pace, goals and that uniquely South American blend of trickery and tenacity.
Last season he bagged seven goals and four assists in 28 Serie A appearances whilst averaging 3.1 tackles per match and the Chile international has brought that form to the Copa America – barring his drink-driving scandal – claiming three strikes in three outings.
After winning four consecutive Serie A titles with Juve and reaching the 2015 Champions League final, the 28 year-old might be ready for a new challenge ahead of next season. Incidentally, he’s now into the final two terms of his Turin contract.
Earlier this month, however, club director Giuseppe Marotta claimed he expects Real Madrid to launch a bid for the former Colo-Colo youngster.
JAVI MARTINEZ
I’ve argued it before and I will do so again; Javi Martinez is a potential signing who could change everything for Arsenal, propelling them back to the promised land of regular Premier League titles.
That might seem a little overzealous but the Bayern Munich enforcer represents everything they lack in the middle of the park through his 6 foot 3 frame, bullish style and defensive qualities so almighty he’s often filled in at centre-back for both club and country.
Furthermore, the 26 year-old blessed with all the technical ability you’d expect from a Spain international plying his trade in a Pep Guardiola side – so in my opinion, there’s no doubt he can adapt to Arsenal’s definitive style of play.
Arsenal attempted to prize him away from the Allianz Arena last summer, according to The Telegraph, but they could find better luck in the current transfer window.
After all, Martinez has spent the majority of last season out injured and the Bavarians hardly struggled in his absence – in fact, they signed Mehdi Benatia and Xabi Alonso last summer precisely to fill his void.
Highly-rated throughout world football, however, Bayern could still command top dollar for the former Athletic Bilbao star.