When you see Arsenal fans clamoring for a DM like the way some young men crave for sex, you can’t really blame them. These are the same set of fans that saw the likes of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva don the famous red and white jersey. Alex Song looked like a diamond with very rough edges in the start of his career with the club but after a loan move to Charlton, bulking up a bit and the manager clearly showing confidence in the lad, he rose to prominence till when he decided to leave for the shores of Spain.
In Song’s absence, the selfless Mikel Arteta has taken the mantle of being the club’s holding midfielder but where he lacks in brawn, tenacity and being a commanding presence, he makes up for it with intelligence, calm, dictating the tempo and being one of the best passers in the Premier League. However, Arteta has two niggling issues – 1. He’s reaching the twilight years of his career and most importantly, 2. He’s an injury prone player. Maybe age is taking its toll on his body and performances but since he was given the captain’s armband this season, Arteta has featured just 12 times for the Gunners with his last game coming in late November. To make things worse, we have learned that he’s going to be out for another three months after he had surgery to remove a bony (not Wilfried) spur in his ankle.
His backup, Mathieu Flamini, struggled a bit in the start of the season but he has also had his own injury issues to contend with. That’s where a certain Coq comes in. Since his recall from loan in Charlton, Wenger has thrust Coquelin into the thick of things and the midfielder has revitalized his Arsenal career. His tackle-first-ask-questions-later approach has been lauded by the fans and many wish to see him continue his good patch of form.
But the question remains – was Arsenal going to buy a new DM the fans wanted so badly? Many are dying to see William Carvalho due to his rugged and tenacious style of play but was does the great Wenger do? Sign up some ‘wunderkid’ from Legia Warsaw.
Of course, I took the step to go into YouTube to check a few clips of the lad because I won’t come here and tell you I know a lot about him. For a 16-year-old, he’s quite confident and he has a decent passing range. What’s most interesting about him is his height that could be an advantage for him in the near future. At least, the lad has admitted that he’s not ready but I have a hunch that Wenger would be putting a close eye on him and if for instance, we have clinched our usual fourth place with a few games to spare, I’d expect to see him play a game or two.
We are at the halfway point of the transfer Window and there’s still a lot of business to be conducted. Let’s just hope that Arsenal isn’t done.
Sayonara
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