Steel and finesse in store for new look Arsenal midfield
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The gossip column is suitably crammed with tasty titbits heading into the Easter break and as a result, chocolatey eggs won’t be the only things causing salivation among Arsenal fans.
Premium quality additions to the Gunners engine room seem to have been on the cards for eternity, especially in the specialised defensive midfield slot, yet big-name signings have, for whatever reason, failed to materialise.
While Francis Coquelin has proved an unexpected bonus having been promoted through the ranks and modestly-priced January signing Mohamed Elneny has also impressed in his early showings, neither carry the kudos of those heavily linked previously .
Porto’s William Carvalho and World Cup winner Sami Khedira are among the main transfer target protagonists strongly associated with Emirates switches over recent seasons, that were supposedly set to strengthen the Gunners’ soft core.
It has since transpired that no matter how intensive the clamour from fans and media to see such a marquee centre-mid arrive, these rumours were largely baseless.
Nevertheless, the scope of midfield makeover many a Gooner craves could be closer than ever, if Arsene Wenger is granted a wish the Daily Mirror report on.
The outlet claim the embattled Arsenal chief is asking his board to back a double-pronged pursuit of Southampton enforcer Victor Wanyama and Real Madrid’s deep-lying playmaker Toni Kroos.
This type of brains-and-brawn combination has plenty of appeal. Having joined Southampton from Celtic in 2013, Wanyama has shown himself to be one of the Premier League’s finest examples of a disruptive, defensively-minded midfielder.
The Kenyan international was a chief target of arch rivals Tottenham only last summer and at 24 his peak powers are yet to be realised.
Meanwhile, although Kroos’ World Cup 2014-high stock may have reduced a little this season at Real Madrid, there’s no question the former Bayern Munich man is a classy operator.
If the consensus that Kroos is a little unappreciated at the Bernabeu is anything to go by, then this transfer also has legs.
Whether Wenger is still in charge to orchestrate such a midfield revamp is debatable though.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
