Thursday, August 23, 2012

Sahin, Tiote, Biglia & M'Vila to Revive Arsenal



The departure of Alex Song to Barcelona, Arsenal's best midfielder from last season who was voted second place by Arsenal fans in the clubs player of the season poll was somewhat unexpected, and the player will leave behind a highly influential 14 assists which he provided last term for Arsenal. Now Arsene Wenger must find a player to replace the Cameroon international, and there are a number of players on Wenger's radar.

The most likely addition to Arsenal's squad will be the loan signing of Real Madrid's Turkish midfielder, Nuri Sahin. Wenger is apparently close to completing the signing of the 23 year-old, whose current manager at Madrid, Jose Mourinho, has admitted that England is a good place for his player to gain certain skills that he will be unable to gain on the bench in Spain.

On Sahin, Mourinho said: "The Premier League is a good place for players to pick up certain characteristics which he does not have. It is all the same to me though which club he goes to. I just hope that it happens soon for him, as it is best for him. Liverpool, Arsenal or Spurs, I have no preference."

Sahin will be cover for Wilshere, who has been suffering from a recurrent ankle injury which has seen him miss a significant amount of games for Arsenal. While Sahin's signing may not be on a permanent basis, it will add quality support and strength in depth to the Arsenal midfield which has been torn apart in the previous summer windows with the sales of Fabregas, Nasri and now Song.

Further reports suggest that Newcastle's Ivorian midfield enforcer, Chiek Tiote is also wanted by Wenger, who admires the 26 year-old's work rate and strength in the midfield which he showcased last season for the Toon, gathering interest from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. The Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has himself admitted that he may be forced to sell some of his best players due to the impossibility of competeing in the market with the likes of United and City.

Pardew recently said: "I worry about losing all my players because we’re not Manchester United or Manchester City. We’re always vulnerable. I’m looking forward to September 1 now because by then we’ll all know where we are.”

However, Tiote's contract would prove difficult for Arsenal to buy out, with the midfielder signing a six year contract with Newcastle in early 2011, keeping him at the club until 2017. There are far easier, cheaper and more willing to leave options for Wenger to consider, such as the Anderlecht defensive midfielder from Argentina, Lucas Biglia.

Arsenal are in "pole position" to sign the 25 year-old who has repeatedly stated his desire to leave Anderlecht for a bigger club who are playing in Europe. He has said: "I can leave for €8million (£6.3million) in the current market. I agreed to this transfer fee myself. There are clubs ready to pay that amount but they are not better than Anderlecht so for now I focus on this club. I want to at least be playing in Europe."

Wenger has been watching Biglia for some time now, and it is believed that even if Arsenal do manage to complete the signing of Nuri Sahin, they will still attempt to bring Biglia to the Emirates as well in order to bolster midfield options.

One man who has also been tracked by Arsenal is Rennes' French midfielder Yann M'Vila. A deal has been rumoured since the beginning of the summer window after constant links in previous windows, and it is thought that the 21 year-old would be the ideal replacement for Alex Song, with the highly rated defensive midfielder considered very mature for his age and wanted by both Arsenal and Tottenham.

Rennes' club director Pierre Dreossi believes M'Vila will leave the French club soon, explaining that the £17 million rated players future "can be settled by the end of this week or the start of next." It is believed that a bid of around £16 million would see Rennes let their star man leave, so Arsenal's options are strong and plenty.

Sahin's signing seems a certainty, but it is whether or not any other midfielders will be added which is still in question considering Sahin would not be staying permanently and depth has often been an issue due to injuries at the London club. It is all down to Wenger.

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