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Arsenal urged to sign ‘nasty’ midfielder who can take Declan Rice to the next level
Arsenal have been tipped to act in the January transfer market and land a new midfielder.
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Former Arsenal and Chelsea defender William Gallas has insisted that the Gunners need a “nasty” midfielder alongside Declan Rice this season. Kai Havertz, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Jorginho and Leandro Trossard have often been deployed with Rice and Martin Odegaard, but Gallas feels that a different and more aggressive option is required.
Arsenal did not replace Granit Xhaka with a direct replacement in the summer, after the Swiss star decided to leave the Emirates for Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. Many have felt that the midfielder’s presence has been missed this season, with Mikel Arteta’s side so far unable to match their fluid best from the previous campaign.
“You need a midfielder who can be a bit nasty,” Gallas told Gambling Zone. “Xhaka was that player. He’d put in tackles, playing rough football and would show to opponents that you can’t mess around with Arsenal. I don’t think they have that player.
“Rice is a good player. He’s done well at Arsenal but you need a player around him who could do that job and they don’t have that player. However, Arteta was an assistant coach at (Manchester) City with (Pep) Guardiola, everything he is doing with Arsenal is what Guardiola has been doing with City. Teams under Pep at City haven’t had that type of player. Xhaka could play football but sometimes he was also rough.”
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Arsenal have been linked with a host of midfielders, most notably Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz and Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi. However, although both could certainly help Rice in the Gunners’ title charge, would cost upwards of £50m at a time when Arsenal have to be conscious of Financial Fair Play.
Instead, Arsenal have been prioritising a striker as Ivan Toney, Dominic Solanke and Victor Osimhen are among the targets. Gallas believes that spending as much as £100m for Toney this summer would be “too much” and described any team prepared to pay Brentford’s valuation as “thick”, after the England man’s suspension was completed on January 17.
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“How much would Arsenal or Chelsea pay for him? Some clubs are thick,” Gallas added. “They don’t realise that there’s too much money in football so they’ll pay £100m for Toney.
"That means the player has to be an international player. He has hardly played for England. How can you explain to me that his price is £100m?
“If you buy a player for £100m, he has to be a young player. Spending £100m on a 27-year-old is too much. Either you spend £100m on an international player or a young player that a team can invest in for the long-term.”