Arsenal Set to Move For Another German Star! by AT
According to a report from The Telegraph, Arsenal are ready to challenge Manchester United for the signature of the Borrusia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who has recently announced that he will be leaving this summer after having rejected a contract extension from the former Bundesliga champions. It is understood that the player was scouted by Arsenal in January and the Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has seen enough to make a move once the transfer window opens at the end of the season.
The report also claims that Arsenal will allow Mathieu Flamini to leave the club and warn club captain Mikel Arteta that he will no longer be guaranteed first-team football and he will take on the role of an experienced squad player. With the squad consisting of central midfield players like Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin, it seems as though the club are looking to build the team around a core of dynamic midfielders, and Ilkay Gundogan perfectly fits the bill!
In my opinion, the news has a great amount of credibility in it. Considering the fact that Flamini will most definitely be shown the door in the summer, Wenger will be looking for a midfielder to bring into the squad and given that Gundogan has confirmed that he will be leaving Dortmund at the end of the season, there is a strong likelihood of genuine interest from the Arsenal manager. While I was hoping to see Arteta leave as well, I guess squad depth in a vital area of the pitch is necessary.
With Arsenal also being heavily linked to players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Geoffrey Kondogbia, I believe that it is a certainty that Arsenal will sign a defensive midfielder in the summer, despite the meteoric rise of Francis Coquelin. The squad needs at least two top-quality players in this position and the Frenchman needs to be given competition. While I will be happy if Arsenal sign any of the aforementioned players, Iād have to say that my pick would be Ilkay Gundogan considering his dynamic style of play and the German contingent that Arsenal are starting to build.
Anurag
Boy! How many times do we need to state…….We don’t need Gundogan……… Get us Kondogbia pls….i repeat ….. K-O-N-D-O-G-B-I-A
Our requirement is a Schneiderlin not gundogan.Honest Opinion you see!
Gundogon is d hero we want but not d hero we need!!
FELIPE LUIS……… From a regular starter at Athletico.M to a consistent bench-warmer at CheLski …….. Sometimes i wonder what runs thru the minds footballers……are they after records,Trophies, the money, cLub, playing time or they are just plain stupid
At the end of the day, they are still normal human beings just like you and me making a living for the family. If Chelsea offers a shitload of money, why not? I know i would think all about the money if i was not playing for my favourite club. There’s a time after the career which does not bring in nearly as much money (unless you become a big time manager) as when playing football – I would focus on making that bank account as big as possible so that it will last longer after the career.. I’m sure most footballers think the same. Trophies (or prestigue/glory, if you want) and money usually walk hand in hand. Then you have players like Ronaldo and Messi, who already makes the most money in the world – they can focus on records.
You acknowledge we’re being linked with DM’s like Schneiderlin/Kondogbia then say your choice is Gundogan? That’s frankly bizarre.
Gundogan is not the player you want at DM by a long stretch, plus however much I rate the guy I can’t help put 2 and 2 together on the injury front and feel like he’d be out long-term within weeks of signing. Keep Gundogan, keep Hummels, let’s have Reus if we’re getting Dortmund on the phone.
Fact of the matter is he’s not the type of player we need, the type of quality yes…..but wrong position entirely.
Reus has been suffering his share of injuries as well lately.
I would hope the medical staff would go over him closely before we made a move.
As you say, Schneiderlin/Kondogbia are both better players and less injury prone that Gundogan.
Gundogan is a great player but as @Charlie said not what we need. Kondogbia, Wanyama or Schnederlin for me.
Agreed! Very good player, who i won’t mind seeing in an arsenal shirt! Coyg!
REUS, KONDOGBIA, LACAZETTE + an extra versatile C.B …….. And i see us taking the premier League by storm….what do you think?
@SoOpa AeoN
Preach
Should we buy Pedrom from Barca?
if theo’s leaving
*Pedro
Gundogan? are you kidding me? with all his injury problems? what happend to schneiderllin huh? smh
gundogan isn’t even a DMF.
Gundogan to replace Flamini? The “Gun” in the guy is gone. He’s just Dogan now. I mean GoneDogan.
Players I would want before Gundogan: Wanyama, Schneiderlin, Imbula, Kondogbia… (not in that order)
Wanyama and Schiniderlin won’t need any time adapting to the league and i will be happy with anyone of these 2.
But who so ever buys IMbula in the summer will be winning a jackpot. I am surprised we have never been linked with him. A terrific midfielder with a great left foot. the power the energy the pace and vision from deep are all incredible. terrific young player and only 22 years old. . But the rumours in France is that jose mourinho has wrapped him up for chelsea.
I believe all the Arsenal
needs are within the squad
we already have.
Giroud Wellbeck Akpom Ramsey Sanchez
Wallcot Cazorla Ozil can score the goals.
Chamberlain +Gnabry are due for a break out seasons
Coquelin+ Chambers + even Gabriel can be
our DM’s with Arteta as a one year cover.
Hayden can cover CB. Jenkinson can cover RB and CB.
Ramsey Chamberlain Wilshere Zelalem can compete for the B2B .
Coquelin was 4th choice DM now look at him. Look within first.
@davidnz
That has always been my thinking. We got the squad. They just need to”show up” on the day. When they do, we can take it to “anybody”…
I have a feeling toral could get some games too.
the guy is quality and would prefer him to ramsey any day of the week but he isnt really what is needed…we need a DM and preferably a left footed one…when i look at the defensive side there is no doubt that the left is weaker..gibbs has not come on and monreal while improving this season is not top class…so maybe imbula is a good choice though a bit raw …. anyway we should have a clear out of half a dozen players …including pololski flamini mert and walcott …and bring in three top quality options in attack midfield and defence
Who writes this sh*t these days??
Gundogan has been injured for over a year, has only ever had 1 good season at Dortmund and is out of contract next year and you still think he is worth Ā£20m plus???
Its criminal what some of our so called fans wish for!! We have Ramsey and Wilshere and Cazorla who play similar positions and yet you want another identical player whose i jury record is as bad as Wilshere’s??!!
Arsenal need 2-3 players max for next season in order to compete both in the league and Europe.
Kondogbia would be an excellent addition to replace Flamini and Diaby and can be our new Patrick Viera/Yaya Toure all in one.
Konoplyanka would be great addition to replace Poldi and Miyachi for left wing position as he is a natural winger not a forward playing out wide.
And lastly Lacazette as a striker to compete with Giroud and Welbeck, so we then have 3 very different strikers, therefore 3 different attacking options.
Arsenal need to be versatile in their play like Chelsea have in order to win the League and these 3 additions will help us get to achieve this feat!
@KickAssFan LOL…Nice pun. He really is GoneDogan.
The guy isn’t a DM, he’s a B2B MF and we’ve got players for that role. JW10, AR16, SC19 and Ox.
Shneiderlin is what we really need, check his stats on whoscored.com and compare him to other DMs we’ve been linked with.
For people saying Shneiderlin … watch him play, he is a great tackler but he isn’t the def mid we need, Wanyama holds back and allows Shneiderlin to go forward.
Shneiderlin is a B2B in a mold simular to Vieira, how often has Vieira been called a def CM but any long term fan will know Vieira was instramental in joining our quick attacks as well, he was B2B while the silent hero Gilberto protected the back four.
Do we need a B2B?
Santi, Ramsey and Wilshere currently occupy that role. Also have great youths in this area as well š
Santi this season has been very impressive, I am happy with him continuing if his form continues, Shneiderlin wouldn’t displace him IMHO.
Ramsey… Well I am not forgetting how great he was last season alongside Arteta, if he regains that form then Ramsey is better than Shneiderlin IMHO.
Wilshere? Current form Wilshere would be lower down but will Shneiderlin be happy with being 3rd choice? We also don’t know how much of an effect Alexis has had on him due to lack of seeing him play, both Santi and Ramsey have been in form when playing centraly so it is a hard task to achieve…
Now to reply to people who say Gundogan isn’t the type we need, I like Coquelins tough tackles but he is a great interceptor and distributer of the ball once he wins it back. You watch him and you’ll know what I mean, Henry understands by calling him the police officer/ columbo.
Gundogan is more like that than the others mentioned, he uses his intelligence to be at the right place and if it gets played around him then he isn’t a stranger to putting in a tackle that has great technique. He can release smart balls equally as good as retaining safe options.
This isn’t to say that others can not become as good/ better at it, it is just highlighting that Gundogan has that capability NOW and not a potential, it was a shame about his injury as people tend to have short memories :'(
Gundogan may need to be looked after regarding his fitness but that would mean he wouldn’t totally kick Coquelin out the picture š Young Beilik is developing as well… Purchasing Gundogan would be better for the TEAM, he may not be better than Coquelin but who is š as such I think a TEAM signing rather than a STAR signing would be better for us.
We could be letting a number or wide attackers leave and the Right AM spot isn’t truely claimed by anyone like Alexis has claimed the Left AM role, we have players who can do it but no individual has truely claimed it.
Could make a star signing for that role instead, this would continue to give faith in Coquelin who has earned it. A signing has to improve the team so you need to look past a starting 11 ^.^