Yoann Miguel Gourcuff is a 25-year old French midfield playmaker that was touted as the next best thing in his Stade Rennais days from 2003 to 2006. He made a €4.5m move to AC Milan in the summer of 2006 but he was largely disappointing on and off the pitch in his San Siro days making 36 league appearances in three seasons.
A loan move to Laurent Blanc’s Girondins de Bordeaux in the 2008/09 season worked wonders for Gourcuff’s confidence. Gourcuff was so impressive in his loan stint at Bordeaux that was nominated for the FIFA Ballon D’ Or that year. He was also voted as Ligue 1’s Player of the Year and he deservedly made it into the Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
Bordeaux made the deal permanent after the loan spell only to sell him to French juggernauts Olympique Lyonnais for €22m a season after.
On the international scene, Gourcuff has represented France at every junior level and after earning his first French cap in 2008 against Sweden, he has gone on to make 28 caps for Les Bleus.
Yoann Gourcuff is a technically proficient and talented attacking midfielder that’s renowned for his eagle eye for a pass. He also has good dribbling skills as well as being a dead ball specialist. He has been admired a lot by Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger and he has been linked to the North London giants countless times.
Any team would certainly want a player of Gourcuff’s talents at their disposal but here are five reasons why Arsenal does not need to sign Yoann Gourcuff:
The Rise of Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey joined Arsenal from Cardiff in 2008 and was slowly introduced into the squad as there were many players above him in the pecking order. Ramsey ascended in the 2009/10 season and did well to shove off the threat of Abou Diaby and Denilson for a starting team berth but a career threatening injury suffered in February 2010 put a sudden halt in Ramsey’s progress.
This season Ramsey has gotten a lot of games under his belt and he has done well to put some impressive performances in some games while he has been mediocre in others. Ramsey’s learning curve is very steep and the introduction of Yoann Gourcuff will hinder his progress in the first team.
The Return to Fitness of Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere is undoubtedly one of the brightest talents England has produced in recent times and it took a loan move to Bolton Wanderers to unleash the beast within.
Wilshere was phenomenal for Arsenal last season and he duly won the Young Player of the Year in 2011. However, Wilshere played a lot of games last season and his fatigue played a part in the long-term ankle injury has suffered since August.
The Englishman is close to full fitness and he would seem like a new signing because he hasn’t played any football this season. Wilshere may not have immaculate passing ability Gourcuff possesses, but offers Arsenal a whole lot more.
Large Personnel in Midfield
Arsene Wenger employed the traditional 4-4-2 formation in his early days and was close to winning the title in the 2007/08 season before the club crumbled in grand style in the business end of the season. The blonde-haired Manuel Almunia had William Gallas and Kolo Toure in the heart of Arsenal’s defense while Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy marauded the full-back positions.
Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini forged an extremely good understanding in the middle of the park while Tomas Rosicky and Aliaksandr Hleb were the terrorists of the flanks. Robin van Persie and Eduardo da Silva provided enough firepower for Emmanuel Adebayor that ended up scoring 30 goals that season despite Arsenal’s shortcomings.
Arsene Wenger kicked off the 2009/10 campaign with a new improved 4-2-3-1 formation that brought out the best in Fabregas but Wenger primarily used this new formation because of the large haul of midfielders in his disposal.
This season has been no different and Arsene Wenger has had the pleasure of a very large midfield to choose from, even though he hardly rotates them. With only 25 players registered for the ongoing season, Yoann Gourcuff can only come into the squad if a midfield player is flushed out- and that’s not happening anytime soon.
Large Transfer Fee
In Yoann Gourcuff’s career that has spanned through four clubs, his transfer fees keep increasing with each move.
Stade Rennias sold him to AC Milan for €4.5m and the Italian giants sold the playmaker to Girondins de Bordeaux for €13.5m. After two seasons with Bordeaux he made a €22m move to Olympique Lyonnais.
He is touted as one of the hottest properties in Europe thanks to his age and ability. He’s likely to command a mammoth fee to acquire his services from his current employers.
Arsene Wenger is a manager that likes making his signings in a shrewd manner and down the years, money has been an issue when it comes to sealing the deal for a player.
Arsenal has missed the likes of Franck Ribery, Xabi Alonso et al in the past and in recent times, Phil Jones and Juan Mata has missed out on wearing the Red and White because of a quid or two.
It’s fair to say that Yoann Gourcuff falls into that league.
Arsene Wenger Has Ruled Him Out
As the old adage goes, “No matter how much a child craves for sweets, If the Mother says no, he won’t get it.”
A faction of the Arsenal faithful would like to see Yoann Gourcuff wear the Red and White but the manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out a move for the playmaker according to ESPN Soccernet.
This clearly paints the picture for all Gooners that Yoann Gourcuff is not needed at Arsenal, for the time being at least.
Feel free to share your opinion in the comments section.
Sayonara.
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