According to reports Arsenal have contacted Juventus about the availability of Mario Lemina so here is an overview of what could he bring to Arsenal.

Overview

Mario Lemina has been linked with a move away from Juventus after the midfielder only made eight starting appearances for the club in Serie A.

The 23-year-old joined Juventus from Marseille in 2015 but has since struggled to break into the first team and become a regular starter for the Italian champions.

He started his youth career at FC Lorient but was soon sold to Marseille for €4m, and Juventus showned great interest in the player, bringing him on loan and eventually signing him for €9.8 million.

Lemina has made 29 appearances across all competitions for Juventus last season, scoring one goal and making one assist.

Due to the very limited amount of game-time has failed to make any significant impact.

Style and strengths

The Gabon midfielder has plenty of physical strength and stamina and he covers plenty of ground during a match.

He is adapted to play in multiple midfield positions but is best used when played as a box-to-box midfielder.

Lemina is a very good crosser and his long balls often find their target. His passing skills are also very good and the player maintains an average of 89.8% in successful passes.

One of his main strengths is holding the ball and taking on his opponents while going forward with it. He has a 63% successful take on rate per-game and he doesn’t give up possession easily.

His defensive work is significantly better than his offensive work and the player often makes the job easier for his defenders by applying pressure and committing to the opposition’s players.

Weaknesses

Lemina can often be quite selfish and try to make his way by dribbling or taking a shot himself rather than passing the ball, and the player should be urged to put in work to change that part of his game.

For a central midfielder, Lemina is very poor in aerial duels, wining only 13.33% and he should also consider putting in extra work to develop his aerial ability.

Over 6ft tall, in he should have enough height to make himself count in aerial duels.

Is he good enough for Arsenal?

Mario Lemina is a good midfielder, but not very close to being one of the best. But he’s also not the worst option for Arsenal.

His defensive abilities are nicely developed, and playing in Serie A has helped him improve that part of his playing style.

While going forward, there are plenty of better players and if Lemina joins Arsenal he should be used as a holding midfielder, keeping possession and covering behind more offensive midfielders.

Arsenal have Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin who can put in quality defensive performances and Lemina is somewhere between their abilities.

The reported price of €20m isn’t very high and if Arsene Wenger decides to offload some of his midfielders, Lemina could be on the cards to make a move to the Emirates.

Goals, skills & assists

Factfile

Further reading