Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila has been linked with Arsenal
Arsene Wenger might finally bring in a late cavalry charge to add quality to the midfield.
Yann M’Vila the highly rated holding midfielder from Rennes is a £15million target, although there are reports of Rennes denying any such link.
Further upfield Arsenal is linked with Lille’s Eden Hazard once again to provide the creative spark. His transfer fee is in the region of £20m. Another player in the same role on the short list is Marvin Martin, Sochaux’s eye catching attacking midfielder who may come at a more reasonable price.
The usual linkages to Phil Jagielka are still doing the rounds.
The caveat is all of this will have to hold till after Wednesday because a major attraction playing for Arsenal is the prospect of Champions League participation. If they are able to overcome Udinese then Arsenal goes into negotiations for potential transfers with the upper hand. If they are eliminated then it becomes a tougher sell as personal terms and the transfer fee in the absence of a direct appeal figure more prominently.
Wenger has reiterated he wants to buy, but the difficult part is who to buy. He says he’s bought quality in his recent signings but it is potential quality and not experience. Plus the jury is still out on whether his recent signings of more experienced players have proven successful. An intelligent ideologue like Wenger is probably going through some analysis paralysis and yet the pressure to act has never been greater.
There are other positions that are uncovered where Arsenal could do with strengthening. One is at left back where the options after Kieran Gibbs is very limited with Armando Traore also out with an injury. Wenger missed a golden opportunity in Luis Enrique who signed with Liverpool and then subdued Walcott in the weekend match. And Arsenal need a genuine target man in front who can take the pressure of RVP. Bendtner is unsettled and Chamakh shows no appetite to be that player.