Sven Mislintat wants Arsenal to sign a defensive midfielder as one of four positions he’s looking to strengthen this summer according to reports, but who should he buy?
We recently covered reports of the four areas Arsenal’s new head of recruitment wants to strengthen over the summer, which you can check out here.
One of these areas was in midfield. Arsene Wenger sold Francis Coquelin in January, further depleting an already sparse array of options. Although Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny are showing signs of improvement, Arsenal still need to invest in the summer.
So who could the club look to target?
3Mario Lemina
- Age: 24
- Current club: Southampton
- Contract until: 2022
- Market value: £13.5m
Arsenal followed Lemina before his move to Southampton last summer, and the midfielder said at the time that he was “flattered” by their interest. According to L’Equipe, the club still haven’t “dropped the case”.
The 24-year-old excels at tackling and winning aerial duels. He’s also strong in possession, with 88% pass accuracy for the season (89.8% last season), and he isn’t easy to knock off the ball.
Plus, he has the advantage of having played in the Premier League for a year, so he’ll need less time to adapt.
Another thing that could help Arsenal’s pursuit is if Southampton end up getting relegated.
It’s always more difficult to hold onto your best players if you go down, and many footballers have clauses to allow them to leave for less if you do.
The Saints are currently in the relegation zone, three points behind Crystal Palace with six games left. Although they do have a game in hand on the Eagles.