Arsenal should comfortably spend all of their money to strengthen their offence; the other anticipated deal for a quality midfielder can wait. You’re probably asking why this is, and here’s why:
Adrian Clarke, an ex-gunner, remarked on the Handbrake Off Podcast that Arsenal’s midfield should be the least of their worries right now. He claims Arsenal currently have so many options they can deploy at midfield, and it still clicks. He acknowledges that practically any Arsenal defender can comfortably play in midfield and might even excel given their ball-playing abilities.
Clarke’s claims, if taken seriously, may have a say in Arsenal’s transfer plans. Arsenal can easily complete a marquee striker deal, such as signing Victor Osimhen (or perhaps a top striker and winger), without having to save funds for a headline midfielder move.
“We play four centre halves, but we’ve signed four centre halves who can play in the midfield. That is the genius of it; William Saliba and Gabriel are both incredible on the ball.” Clarke said.
“Saliba completed more passes than Sheffield United.
“Exactly; they could all do a job in midfield; Ben White has done a job in midfield; and Kiwior is looking more secure.”
Arteta has shown a willingness to tweak his players’ positions to get the most out of them. And if the Arsenal manager understands how adaptable his defenders are, it shouldn’t be surprising if he sacrifices a move for a midfielder in order to finally sort out his attack in the summer.
Darren N
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Good point…
While I take the points made by Adrian Clarke, neither White nor Timber are proven central midfielders who could slot in for the likes of Partey or Jorjinho .They both have the potential to convert to a DM role but if Partey and Jorjinho move on we must bring in at least one top quality central/defensive midfielder
Yes, we do need.
Elneny is definitely a goner, and Partey will most likely be sold as well. Considering his age, injuries and wages, I can’t see us sticking with him next season.
Jorginho I would likely to stay for another season but he’s future is still up in the air.
Lokonga has showed some promise at Luton, he could replace Elneny I guess but can’t be certain just yet what future holds come summer.
This leaves us with at least one midfielder short, and considering how we really don’t have a real, pure central midfielder, I would argue we’re short of 2 midfielders. Partey, Rice, Jorginho, Elneny have all played traditionally the DM role more, while Ödegaard and Vieiera are more CAM’s.
I think we will sign Onana, a midfielder who can play in defence. He has astonishing speed and ability in the air and could compete for several positions in our line up
We could cover most of the the fee by selling Partey and Lokonga who has ability but struggled being a squad player, may as well take the money for him
It might depend on how close nwaneri is to the first team – I think he’ll eventually play next to odegaard with rice behind. Also on whether jorginho stays.
Of the centre backs mentioned as midfielders, only white and timber have any experience there (to my understanding) and I think they’d be seen as a last resort rather than genuine options. There’s a difference between being comfortable on the ball, like Gabriel and saliba, and being able to consistently turn and play passes in midfield. Zinchenko, on the other hand, is a capable midfielder (again, to my understanding) – we just don’t seem willing to play him there.
Have been telling every willing listening ears this since saltfish use to make house, Arsenal needs another powerful midfielder regardless if Thomas Partey or Jorginho stays or goes.
A young dynamic midfielder in the mold of Real Madrid Camavinga is a must if the club have any sort of vision.
This would strengthen the spine and rotate with any of our midfielders with out missing a beat even at left back if you ask me.
This is the area Arsenal is falling down, at the moment, lack of planning and foward thinking
“lack of planning and forward thinking” only to find ourselves challenging the likes of City and Pool, while dispatching opponents!
Yes Arsenal do need a new midfielder but that shouldn’t be a priority next summer as our current set up can comfortably carry us through next season
agreed – Elneny, Jorginho and Partey likely to depart over the course of this summer and next, that just leaves Rice as a soul DM which would restrict his development in a more advanced role
at least two DM required over next two windows, preferably one in each to give them a chance to settle, but unless we tie Jorginho down to new contract we will need two this summer as Partey can no longer be relied upon
if we are to take risk of a patch up job playing people out of position then I would prefer that to be striker as right now we are doing just fine and Biereth getting better everyday we have someone to be that Plan B if frustrated by the low block and save +£100m
yes a new striker as Plan B, I say Plan B because our current Plan A is working exceptionally well, it only occassionally Plan A has needed help but 90% of the time is working well, i.e. is not broken like some imply
Arsenal surely needs at least a midfielder. In my opinion Jorginho contract shouldn’t be extended his legs can only grow older and energy deminish with age next season.
We should retain Lokonga to replace him he is doing well in Luton.
Elneny and Pathey should be sold. Pathey is injury prone and Elneny not effective.
Amoudu Onana of Everton is a good option he is tall, physical and combertive like ManCity Rodri. He is also younger.
There shouldn’t be too much pressure on DRice to avoid burn out.
I think it’s a terrible idea to imagine a centre back could play in midfield just because of their good passing. One key difference between passing in defence and passing in midfield is that a centre back is most of the time passing forward whereas a midfielder must have the awareness and skill to move the ball all around them-forward,backwards,sideways and diagonally. It takes years to master this and not every CB can do it. Even at City,only John Stones has excelled in this role.
I see the need for another midfielder as a replacement for Jorginho,Partey and Elneny.One thing I like about Real Madrid is that they never go through rebuild phases and the reason for this is that they ‘replace’ their star players before they leave such that there’s smooth transition. Getting a replacement for these older players will allow the new signing to be eased into the team as we phase out Partey and Jorginho-if they are still at Arsenal next season.
On point Onyango. People sometimes don’t understand the intricacies of each position in football field. Why do we remove our CB from what they are good at and put them in a position that mostly end up in a failure?
The premise simply reported in this article is frankly, a risible one, and Adrian Clarke who reportedly said such nonsense about our abundance of able midfielders, should IF TRUE, be ashamed of himself and of his own “Intellect”!
As Onyanga shrewdly says above this post, to imagine a CB, such as Saliba or Gabriel being able to play in midfield is the raving of a fiveyear old with no life experience at all.
I can scarcely believe he actually said such a crazy idea.
In fact, if Odegaard got injured long term we would be shorn of proven creative central midfield top level players.
Not only do we BADLY NEED at least one other , but we really need TWO and to get ineffective players like Viera out to make space in the squad.
Plus and OBVIOUSLY, the likes of severely limited Elneny and other subpar players, most of whom are, at best, bit part players who hardly ever feature.
Terrible idea by Clarke, a very amateurish suggestion.
So White and Kiwior who have been excellent as fullbacks, we should experiment with them in midfield while we chase titles and trophies?
Maybe we can try Partey again as a RB?
Or Vieira again as B2B midfielder?
No messing about, get a backup DM to replace Partey and a B2B midfielder to help us get to the next level.
Not sure what he means by doing a job in midfield.
White plays the inverted role, well, he steps into midfield when needed and is more than capable of joining in with fluent passing.
Yet this is a bit different to being an actual midfielder. He could ‘do a job’ but we need midfielders who offer a bit more than the basics. Zinchenko provides that option but lacks a bit defensively.
Depends on who leaves and stays. Who knows? Those departed might be replaced by academy players Mikel intends to give a chance.