With the German playmaker Mesut Ozil continuing to stall on contract negotiations at the Emirates and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future also uncertain, reports from the media suggest that the Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger has already identified a potential replacement, Everton’s Ross Barkley, who has also been stalling on a new contract at Goodison Park. Toffees’ boss Ronald Koeman has admitted that there is a possibility that Barkley could leave and has even given his star man an ultimatum to make up his mind.
As quoted by the Metro, Koeman said: “We need to know before the end of the season. I do feel (everything is being done to keep him), and we will offer what’s normal for the player and the way he’s improving.
“He’s going in the right direction – he’s kid of the club, kid of the town and in my opinion there’s no better place for him than Everton. I spoke to him several weeks ago, and he mentioned his ambition is the Champions League but I told him I have the same.”
Personally, I think Ross Barkley is an incredibly talented midfielder. The Englishman is good on the ball, possesses great dribbling skills, has the ability to split a defence and has a good eye for goal to go with his tireless work rate. But is he really a worthy Mesut Ozil replacement? Surely, that’s a bit of an exaggeration as Barkley is nowhere near as good as the German.
So with that being said, the focus at the moment should be retaining players like Ozil and Sanchez. Besides, we need to be looking at a striker rather than going for more midfielders. While Barkley has shown immense promise, he is far from the finished product and if the idea is to replace Ozil, then a finished product is what the club needs.
Who thinks Arsenal could be Barkley’s next club?