Arteta Is Two Midfielders Away From Cracking His Midfield Puzzle, Here’s Why….
For years, Arteta has worked hard to transform Arsenal into the image he envisioned when he took over in 2019. He has made some headway in assembling his dream team, strengthening position after position. His midfield is the one position he is needs to strengthen first this summer.
When Jorginho, Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Fabio Vieira, and Granit Xhaka are all fit, Arsenal have a capable midfield. Despite this, Dean Jones says Arteta’s midfield is in turmoil without his midfield lieutenant, Thomas Partey.
Jones tells Give Me Sport that if Arteta wants to avoid being without Partey, he should be bold enough to sign two midfielders during the summer transfer window. “There’s an obvious need for at least one midfielder, but there’s possibly a need for two with Champions League football on the table and ongoing fears, too, about how they might cope if Thomas Partey was suddenly missing from the side.”
Jones’ opinions are understandable; Arsenal just do not have a player in his position as good as Partey. Jorginho was signed as Partey’s backup, but he’s not all that good. The question is, who is as good as Partey? Maybe Moises Caicedo or Declan Rice? We believe they are the two midfielders Arteta is interested in for his midfield. Signing just one of them may be excellent, but signing both could transform the dynamics of Arsenal’s midfield.
With Rice and Caicedo, why wouldn’t Arsenal’s midfield be the best in Europe, not just the Premier League?
Sam P
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Signing one or both of them in the summer would be unlikely, because we’ve already got enough good players for the CDM and AM positions
Maybe we’ll sign a new midfielder in the summer of 2024, when Rice has only one year left in his contract
Sometimes a hyped midfielder can flop after making a big move, if you remember about Naby Keita and Yves Bissouma. There must be better midfielders in other league and we haven’t even given Sambi-Lokonga/ Smith-Rowe enough chances to be starters yet
I heard Cedric Kante’s agent said that Arsenal made an inquiry about his client
But are our current midfielders better than these 2 players?
Maybe not. But Jorginho’s and Elneny’s contracts will only expire at the end of next season, so signing Caicedo or Rice as the fourth CDM in this summer would be a waste of money
As for Xhaka’s advanced position, I think Smith-Rowe, Trossard, Nelson and Sambi-Lokonga will be more suitable as Xhaka’s successor than Caicedo and Rice
I think signing two excellent young midfielders is a good idea, because (1) As good as he’s been lately, Granit Xhaka is never that far away from a potential suspension, and of course he can suffer loss of form like everyone, so he needs back-up / competition, and also someone to supersede him, and (2) Having Jorginho as back-up for Partey is good, but again he needs competition, and given that he’s one of the older members of the squad, he needs a younger successor that can eventually take over from him.
No not xhaka again. What in world could he do right tot ur around and never be mentioned as a weak l o nk needing replacing.
He can never do right in some eyes. #Forgive&forget
We needed the two and a deadly striker like Osimhe
In fact, we need to sign another striker. Someone who is good in the air
We do need two agreed.But I wouldn’t be so dismissive of Jorginho this season.Very,very useful player as cover or for added strength & guile to the midfield.A shrewd purchase just like Trossard.
We can’t have both because we can’t have the the required playing they want esp with Thomas still in there one is reasonable and realistic.
They are great choices but may be too costly for us considering that we need a backup that can spar with the first choice ala Trossard. I would go for Onana. Young, talented and probably cheap. Lad can be a serious long term player for us.
Break the bank if we have to and sign them both.
Strongly agree with Sam P, in this article.
And with the war chest by and large untouched in the just concluded winters window, surely the gaffer must have a clear shot of his first choice targets for once.
So spend about two hundred million on two players who will be back up for Partey? Cannot see it happening.
Ruben Neves may be more realistic, he only has one year left on his contract so should be available for a decent price.
Don’t need both.
Milankovic Savic 27 years old and class.
Question.
What do we fo with Fabio Viera
We don’t need them both but we do need two midfielders. Firstly competition for Partey is vital so I would sign Rice. Secondly we need a better left 8 than Xhaka if we want to compete in the champions league. Two players stand out for me Savic from Lazio or McAllister from Brighton. Both offer more goals and assists than Xhaka and won’t shy away from the defensive duties required playing the role. Finally
My question is, are these two better than Partey? Are they willing to sit on the bench as backup? Do we want players that will be surplus to requirement.
Rice is not gonna sit on our bench hoping to oust Partey in the next two seasons. He’ll want guarantees. Someone about 21 or 22 may be ideal as Partey is closing on his sell-by date. As things stand I don’t see Rice being signed
We don’t need both. Caicedo ticks the boxes and might be a good signing. Rice is over hyped and I have never seen anything special about him. Just buy osimhen and caicedo and we are good to go
We should prioritize a striker, not in the mold of Jesus. Out and out striker, may be Balogun is good enough, if not getting Muani or Højlund are good option.
Current midfield can carry for a year, till Jorginho and Elneny move on. Lokonga can come back if we need numbers. If we can sell players like Tavares, Elneny, AMN, Pepe, Mari, Soares and may be Lokonga – we can get Rice to main team
Maybe push the boat out and get Jude Bellingham .
How Declan rice is worth 100 million is a complete joke and I hope we do not go in for him at that price .
For me, we defintly need a back-up or better for Partey. I am just not sure who that is, but I trust Arteta and Edu to find the right player (if they consider a back-up or competition for Partey a priority).
Partey has played more games this season than I expected but the games he missed cost us. If we include CL football for next season, we have to have a Partey replacement who can perform at that level because Partey can not play both PL and CL. He is also not a spring chicken any longer being 30 this coming June.
I think Trossard has done briliantly and the front players know if they drop their level they will dropped for him. We don’t lose that much when Trossard plays. Same should go for a player who pushes Partey to the point that he is no longer an automatic starter.
Very doubtful about getting both, which 2 play and which 2 sit on the bench?
I think we get 1 midfielder to rotate and compete with Partey and Xhaka, and a younger project who won’t mind sitting the bench.
Like Lokogna, but a little further along in their development.
IMHO I’d like Caicedo and move Zinchenko to compete with Xhaka. Sell Tavarez and get a backup LB to deputize for Tierney.
Good use of funds, and doesn’t affect the cohesion and chemistry like 2 midfielders used to a lot of playing time would.
I say promote a youngster into the backup position. There are a couple of them that should be good if surrounded tactically as Arteta has done to strengthen some positions. No need to buy.
This season we have been very lucky with injuries.
Xhaka and Partey have been available for most of our games!!!
Additionally we have gone out in the three cup competitions at an early stage (less games to play).
If we want to be a top team and take ourselves seriously next season we will desperately need new players, especially in midfield.
The addition of Rice and Caicedo will not only be to increase our bench strength, but to take the load off Partey and Xhaxa. I can these four sharing the game time!!!
However, I do not see either of these two backing up Odegaard!!!!
In my opinion Viera is not robust enough to play in place of Odegaard, other than against the easiest of opponents.
I love ESR, but he is NOT a replacement for Odegaard either.
This will be a tricky case. We might have to stand pat on this until next January.
A back up right back may have to wait too. I think Benny Blanco and Tommy can cover here.
BUT, I do think we need to get a top, top player in the summer to make us a real contender, we need to really show we are back amongst the elite.
So now the big question, who will that be?
I think we need a big strong fast intimidating Center Forward.
I would like Toney, but his possible suspension may be an issue. If it is for say 15 or 20 games, that might be acceptable, (and lower his price).
Jesus, Eddie nor Trossard do NOT fill that bill!
So, a summer where we get Rice, Caicedo and Toney might make the rest of the league sit up and take notice.
Will the Kroenke’s pony up though?????
I would like to emphasize that in my view the central midfield is the dynamo that makes the team run, which is why I keep pushing Rice and Caicedo.