Is £35 Million transfer target an upgrade on what Arsenal already have?

Reading through the latest Arsenal news I came across yet another player that we are supposedly interested in and it got me thinking, are these players being linked with us really an upgrade on what we already have at the Emirates?

The player in question today is Leicester City’s loanee Youri Tielemans, and according to the report the 22-year-old may be viewed as an upgrade on Granit Xhaka or even as a replacement for Aaron Ramsey.

For some context, we are not the only club said to be interested in the Belgium midfielder, Manchester United and Tottenham are apparently keen on signing the Monaco outcast also.

Now then, an upgrade on Xhaka?

Yeah, maybe, but remember that Tielemans has only played 12 Premier League games and has yet to prove himself long term in the English game and he was a failure at Monaco where he was named by France Football as the biggest flop in the first half of the 2017/18 season.

So, for me, there is absolutely no guarantee what we would get with Tielemans and at least we know that Xhaka does have a role to play even if it is just as a squad player.

I accept that Tielemans has performed well in his short period with the Foxes but how often do we see that, in fact, look at Lucas Torreira, he was imperious in the first half of the season, not so much in the second half.

So, in conclusion, is Tielemans an upgrade on Xhaka, or can he replace Ramsey?

Maybe, but I would not risk £35 Million to find out.

Let us know your opinion in the comments section below on whether you think Tielemans would be an upgrade on what we already have.

15 Comments

  1. A million miles better than xhaka then again so is my gran

    seriously hes showed a very good level since coming and exactly what we need, however, he will join Leicester

  2. I’ve already seen enough of Tielemans to know he’s better than Xhaka. In fact, most midfielders are better than Xhaka!

    Doucoure from Watford is who I really want though to replace Xhaka. 26 years old, mobile, tall, powerful, battles for everything, breaks play up, tough tackler. He also has three years experience of the EPL, and this is vital! How often do clubs buy a player from a foreign league and they can’t handle the EPL? All the time. With Doucoure, he already knows the league inside and out, and he’s fine. One of the areas Arsenal need to improve on, is buying more players from within English football, so we know they can handle it, meaning much less risk involved. Doucoure also plays for Watford in London, which is another advantage. He wouldn’t cost a fortune. Torreira is brilliant, but very small, so we need someone powerful and tall to compliment him.

    Please sign him up Arsenal!

    1. As long as he doesn’t cost 30+ M

      That amount of money should be spent on wide players and tall CBs

      1. I agree with you that wide players and CB’s are more of a priority, but if we can sort them first, and still have the opportunity for Doucoure, or another of similar ilk, then yes please!

    2. I totally agree, but doucoure would cost at least 35m like tielemans and that is a fortune to arsenal with our owner’s lack of ambition. I expect players of around 20-25m max to fill some of the positions we need. Expect cheaper players like fraser, andre gomes, nkunku, djene etc. We should also expect them to retain someof the players fans want out as it will take massive investments to replace them. Personally, I’ve lowered my expectations for this window and next season.

  3. His stats are good in his loan period, but why not get a promising young English midfielders instead? Ward-Prowse and Loftus-Cheek have good scoring stats in this season

    Xhaka is expected to score or assist more if he cannot dictate the tempo, but he just doesn’t have enough flair to be a game changer

    If Arsenal want to have a powerful box-to-box CM in the mold of Vieira, they had better chase Doucoure or Ndombele. However, Arsenal shouldn’t spend too much money on a central midfielder, but invest big in fast impact players such as wingers and tall CBs

  4. Dont we have wide players coming out from our academy???? Ries nelson is one there is another but can think of his name right now if money is short like always we should look within our own system and pick the best we have and buy experience for defense and midfield position >>>>We conceded a lot of goals we need strong fast thinkers in our squad

  5. There are 7 positions we are lacking – CB, Midfielder(Box2Box/Ramsey), Midfielder(Creator/Cazorla, Wilshere etc.), Left Winger, Right Winger, Left Back and Right Back. Considering the budget, I guess we can buy 2 players (may be 3 if we win Europa league). So first we need to fix the skeleton/spine of the team. Leno and Torreira are part of the spine. Additionally we need,
    (1) A strong, agile, tall CB who can lead – we have Sokrates/Kosc/Mustafi – all are quite slow. Holding/Mavrapanos can be nurtured beside this player. I wish VVD had a brother. I believe if someone on-field instruct/communicate/lead run time, even Mustafi can do good. Thats what VVD and Alisson do – improving play of Lovren/Matip (who are not much different from Mustafi).
    (2) A strong physical midfielder – I like Doucoure and exactly similar kind of player we need. We probably won’t get another Vieira, but at least try to get someone who provides physicality.

    Once we secure the above, then we should look for creators (wide players/wing-backs/mids etc.):
    (3) Right winger / RB – We only have Bellerin and M-Niles is a make-shift backup. I have no clue why we took Lichsteiner – but now he is also gone. Jenkinson will not improve, quality is missing.
    (4) Left winger / LB – lowest priority as we have Monreal/Kolasinac/Iwobi – which are not great options, but at least provide options, the right side does not even have that.

    I strongly believe if spine is fixed, pressure on defence will reduce and that will amplify the attack. Even Xhaka (horrible def. quality), Ozil (does not want to def.) etc. can play more freely adding press to the attack.

    (6) Finally, Tielemans can be a Cazorla replacement (which we never got) – but I don’t think he is a Ramsey replacement (which is of higher priority). Instead Andre Gomes somewhat can be that.

  6. I would spend that money on Ndidi. He has been imperious this season. Tall, powerful and more EPL experience. Definitely an upgrade on Xhaka. Plus he is only 22 years old and thus provides both a short term as well as long term solution to our midfield problems.

  7. I don’t denied the fact that Dhaka is a good player,
    But He is full of floppy games, too much unnecessary fouls to dangerous areas. But, as for Tieleman he would be the perfect upgrade for the gunner, because he excellently goes forward with the ball. I saw that with Belgium in the world cup,SIGN HIM!

  8. Tielemans,Doucoure and N’diti are all excellent midfielders although each is different.Tielemans who is a first eleven choice for the very strong Belgium national side, is an excellent passer and mover whilst N’diti is one of the best defensive midfielders in the PL and is apparently being considered by high flying Man city after his awesome display against them recently.Doucoure is a very impressive, powerful box to box midfielder and it will be interesting to see how he performs in the FA Cup final this weekend.To improve our midfield and at the same time add some steel to our ball winning capabi!ity,I would go for Doucoure and try to sell Xhaka who has been directly responsible for numerous goals this season and lacks the pace and mobility to make a real impression in the PL.

  9. Here’s one for you to think about Jon…

    Guess who’s name appeared on the most shirts sold last season for The Arsenal?

    Blow me down….it’s Mr. OZIL!!!

    Guess who was named as the fifth best selling shirt name in the World?

    Blow me down again….it’s Mr. OZIL!!!

    I know you love to deal in facts Jon and the abovementioned come from The Arsenal and FIFA respectively.

    I wonder how iffy bright, with his comment that only 6-8% rate Ozil….TMJW who said he didn’t know one Arsenal fan who wanted Ozil to sign a new contract….and yourself, who has stated so many times about Ozils many frailties, view this unchallengeable evidence?

    As all three of you insisted (with no proof whatsoever) “the vast majority of fans agreed with you”

    1. Sorry, Jon, meant to say I received my season ticket back, glad you enjoyed the seat/games.

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