Arsenal want PSG’s teenage sensation to mend faulty midfield
Published:Blame for Arsenal’s mediocre start to the season has been laid at the door of Arsene Wenger’s summer transfer policy, and now the Frenchman is hoping he can rectify one of the biggest issues in January.
Rightly lambasted for failing to land a top-quality defensive midfielder, Wenger is now hoping to prise Paris St-Germain’s highly-regarded teenager Adrien Rabiot away, when the transfer window reopens.
Although only 19, Rabiot is out of contract in summer 2015 and so far has stalled on agreeing a new deal at the Parc des Princes, albeit the French champions are hoping to tie him down.
Still, Wenger is confident he can lure the French U21 away from PSG with the promise of more first-team football as Rabiot hasn’t even made the bench for his current club yet this season.
Facing competition from the likes of Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta for the holding midfield role, Rabiot is still some way from Laurent Blanc’s starting line-up.
However, at Arsenal that role is currently being shared by Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, neither of which are considered good enough to cut it any longer when compared to the competition in the Premier League.
Both posses industry, but Arteta was never a pure defensive midfielder and his positioning is questionable, while Flamini is clearly past his best days given during his first stint in north London.
After a bashing in the Champions League at Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal’s next assignment is away at high-flying Aston Villa, where the Gunners are priced up at 4/5 for the win.
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