by Lewis Ambrose
James Olley of the London Evening Standard says Arsenal are considering moves for a whole host of midfielders.
Francis Coquelin has made a place at the base of Arsenal’s midfield his own through the absence of Mikel Arteta, but there are still some doubts over whether or not he will be the answer over a longer period of time.
Arsenal have been linked with Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin for quite some time but if a deal doesn’t come off, where does it leave the Gunners?
Trust
Unsurprisingly some members of the Arsenal hierarchy are said to believe Coquelin has done enough to warrant the same place in midfield next season.
With the club aiming to go better than the FA Cup and compete for the Premier League and Champions League it is understandable that reservations would remain. Coquelin has impressed and nailed down a place in the side but he has done so over a relatively short amount of time.
Other key players have been available and it remains to be seen how Coquelin emerges from this honeymoon period.
Whether or not the club trust him it seems likely that a midfielder will be signed anyway – Mikel Arteta seems likely to be given a new contract but has struggled with injuries all season, and an injury to Coquelin would leave Arsenal looking light in that area.
Targets
As everyone is now aware there are a few likely names that Arsenal will be linked with all summer.
Arsenal, by and large, are being linked with the same men as Manchester United.
Morgan Schneiderlin is set to leave Southampton and Borussia Dortmund are waiting for bids for Ilkay Gündogan – the midfielder has one year left on his contract and won’t be signing a new deal. Both would be viable additions for both Arsène Wenger and Louis van Gaal.
Other obvious names include Geoffrey Kondogbia – who we have already been linked with – after his impressive display against us in the Champions League. Inter Milan are already in talks with his agent, but are unlikely to meet Monaco’s demands.
Contingency
Beyond those names the article by James Olley even mentions Yohan Cabaye and William Carvalho of PSG and Sporting Lisbon respectively, saying Arsenal have widened their search and are keeping options open.
A move for either of those seems unlikely, but it does seem that we will buy a midfielder.
Boost
If nothing else we need to boost our squad with one more midfielder who will play in front of the defence.
If we’re shopping anyway, why not take from the top shelf?
If we are inclined to sign one of them, Schneiderlin or Gündogan could be brilliant deals for the club.