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With the World Cup done and dusted and the countries having had their time in the sun, all eyeballs are now trained on the club season ahead. The transfer window is in full swing. As always, the premier league clubs have been the most active players on the market.
To the surprise of many, Arsenal have wrapped up five signings before pre-season with the headline signing being that of Lucas Torreira. In addition to Torreira, Lichtsteiner, Leno, Sokratis and Guendouzi have come through the Emirates door.
Central midfield has been a problem area for the Gunners ever since Gilberto Silva bid adieu to the club. A whole host of midfielders have been tried but none of them have been able to provide the strength and physicality that the Gunners have been craving for.
Granit Xhaka and Mohammed Elneny have not covered themselves in glory over the past couple of seasons. Aaron Ramsey, meanwhile, is very injury prone. This coupled with the departure of Jack Wilshere has left the Gunners midfield in need of additions. Though Torreira and Guendouzi will beef up the midfield, Emery would want another midfielder, cut from the same cloth, to call upon when Arsenal’s infamous injury crisis rears its ugly head.
Through this article, we would look at a few midfielders who fit the bill and would enhance the Gunners’ midfield. If Emery is able to pull of any of these signings, he might just be on his way to the Premier League title that has eluded the Gunners for 14 years.
#1 Idrissa Gueye
Idrissa Gueye moved to Everton in 2016 from Aston Villa and he has been an indispensable part of their team ever since. A tough tackler by trade, he also possesses pace and power in abundance. Gueye’s whole game is based on the ability to read the opponent’s mind and put in perfectly-timed challenges. His finishing as the top tackler in the 2016-17 Premier League season speaks volumes of his capability.
In the 2017-18 season, Gueye averaged an impressive 3.5 tackles per game while also coming up with 1.8 interceptions per match. The Gunners like their midfielders to be technically adept. Gueye ticks this box as well as he combines steel with a sublime range of passing. In the season gone by, he averaged 47 passes per game with a success rate of nearly 85%. To supplement this, Gueye had a stellar World Cup with Senegal and was unlucky to miss out on a knockout berth on the Fair Play Rule.
At 28 years, now is the perfect time for Gueye to climb up a rung in the ladder and play at a ‘big’ club. With Everton having stagnated over the past few years, Arsenal provides Gueye with the perfect platform to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s premier midfielders.
#2 Julian Weigl
Julian Weigl started his professional career at 1860 Munich and quickly climbed up the ranks. He captained his 1860 Munich side against Kaiserslautern at the tender age of 18. After the culmination of the 2014-15 season, he earned his big move to Borrusia Dortmund.
He has amassed 85 caps for Dortmund and has been an ever-present in their midfield. Weigl’s biggest assets are his game reading and tactical astuteness. He anticipates what the opposition is going to do and finds himself in the right place at the right time, more often than not.
Weigl is also very gifted technically. He is an exquisite passer of the football and very rarely gives the ball away. In the 2017-18 season, he averaged more than 50 passes per game with an accuracy of nearly 87%.
At Dortmund, Weigl functioned as the only holding midfielder and provided the shield in front of the back four. This allowed the likes of Pulisic, Aubameyang, and Reus to run riot in the attacking third. If he arrives at the Emirates, he would link up with Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang and Sokratis, his former teammates.
An exciting partnership between Torreira and Weigl could be on the cards for the Gunners. While Torreira would provide the strength, Weigl would provide the technical ability. This midfield pairing would have the capability to hold their own against any midfield in England.
At 22 years of age, moving to Arsenal is a very enticing prospect for Weigl. However, it won’t be easy for Emery to get hold of Weigl as Manchester City are also keen to swoop in for the lanky midfielder.
If Weigl does end up at the Emirates, the Gunners would have moved a step closer to answering their midfield conundrum.
#3 Steven N’Zonzi
Steven N’Zonzi was part of the World Cup winning French squad. Though he did not get a look in, he impressed whenever he was brought on as a substitute. He started off his career at Amiens before moving to England with Blackburn Rovers. He continued to impress after his move to Stoke City in 2012. In 2015, Sevilla came calling and he has been plying his trade at Sevilla ever since.
N’Zonzi is a powerful and robust midfielder. He is a strong physical presence in the middle of the park and provides the ‘screen’ in front of the back four. At 1.97m, he is also a threat from set-pieces and does his fair share of work defending set-pieces as well.
In addition to this, he is a very elegant passer of the ball and always keeps the team ticking. In the 2017-18 season, he averaged 65 passes per game with an astounding accuracy of 89%. With his physicality and ball playing ability, he would fit like a glove at Arsenal.
Emery has also worked with N’Zonzi and the two combined to win the Europa League in 2016. N’Zonzi would relish the opportunity to work under Emery again. Arsenal, on the other hand, have been crying out for a midfielder like N’Zonzi and should pull out all the stops to make him a Gunner.
If N’Zonzi arrives at Arsenal, the Gunners wouldn’t have to worry about getting overpowered in midfield. Power in midfield seems to be the last piece in Arsenal’s jigsaw. In N’Zonzi, they might just have stumbled upon the missing piece.
