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?
5Steven N’Zonzi
- Age: 29
- Current club: Sevilla
- Contract until: 2020
- Market value: £27m
Last month, N’Zonzi showed just what he’s capable of against English opposition, as he walked all over Manchester United’s midfield in a 2-1 win for Sevilla.
His passing was inch-perfect, as it so often is, and he has a major physical presence as well.
In January, reports suggested the 6’5″ defensive midfielder was Wenger’s number one target. Clearly this turned out not to be the case, but it still implies Arsenal were somewhat interested.
N’Zonzi also seemed fairly keen on a transfer throughout 2017. He asked to leave in the summer, then spent time away from the squad after a rift with the manager.
For now he’s focusing on his football again, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the rumours return in the coming window.