AC Milan’s Carlos Bacca has been linked with a potential move to Arsenal and Milan are keen to offload the striker.

Carlos Bacca has been linked with a move away from Milan and possible destinations reportedly include Everton and Marseille, with Arsenal also mentioned on-and-off when there’s nothing else to chat about.

The 30-year-old played 34 games for Milan and scored 14 goals with five assists, his lowest goal tally since 11/12 season when he was still playing for Club Brugge.

The Colombian international spent his youth years on numerous loans at Colombian clubs before he eventually joined Club Brugge in 2012.

In 2013 Sevilla noticed his great talent and he went on to make 108 appearances for the Spanish club, scoring 49 before AC Milan came and bought him in the summer of 2015.

Style and strengths

Bacca is a standard centre-forward and there are no doubts about what kind of player Arsenal would get. His finishing is his greatest strength and the Colombian likely to score when he gets a chance.

Almost all of his goals come from inside of penalty box and he could be best described as a poacher who has great technique but also enough pace and intelligence to find himself in all the right places.

In the building up of attacks he doesn’t rush to take a shot and if he isn’t in a good position he would rather pass the ball to his teammates than to try a shot for the sake of shooting. Perfect for Arsene Wenger.

Weaknesses

Bacca is an old-fashioned centre-forward. He doesn’t track back and his defensive contribution is the bare minimum. His presence on the pitch requires an extra contribution from midfielders who can cover the gaps behind him and he can often disappear for long periods of play.

Due to the fact he often positions himself in the line with two central defenders, he often gets caught offside, but when he does manage to get away it’s usually a goal-scoring chance.

His passing is solid, but considering the fact that he is usually in the final third of the pitch, his 76.1% of successful passing could use a certain boost.

Potential at Arsenal

Bacca has entered his thirties and the things that set him apart like pace and quick reactions are slowly diminishing, and the player doesn’t seem to be ageing very well. His “poor” goal-scoring record from last season is clear evidence of this.

He is still a very experienced striker who can make a difference. Even if he only gets one shot at the goal in 90 minutes, there is a great chance that it will end up in the net.

At Arsenal, he could be a very good squad player, coming from the bench or used as a squad rotation player, but with Welbeck and Giroud in the squad, he wouldn’t have much chance to establish himself as a first team regular, especially with his lack of defensive work rate.

AC Milan are asking €20m for the striker, perhaps a bit more than the real value of the player and it is highly unlikely that Arsene Wenger would opt for Bacca ahead of one of the younger, more expensive attacking options.

Goals & skills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTKs0FR-8UE