Of course it’s all about the World Cup and the VAR decisions dominating the back page’s but it doesn’t mean that things can’t be happening in the background here at Arsenal.
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bernd Leno are in the bag with Sokratis Papathathopoulos and Lucas Torreira’s arrivals imminent but the rumors dominating the blogosphere are about Arsenal interested in signing Arsenal midfield maestro, Ever Banega, from Seville.
Our boss has worked with Banega in the past as he was part of that Europa League triumphant team, but he played on loan at Internazionale last season, doing quite well. His performances earned him a World Cup place and he came off the bench in the recent draw between Argentina and debutantes, Iceland. Like Torreira, I intend to keep a keen eye on Banega to get a glimpse of what he really has to offer.
So from a quality perspective, Banega is a fine option for us. Great with dead balls, beautiful distribution and be dictates tempo. Somewhat Xhaka-esque in his style of play, if you take away the clumsiness and bad discipline of course. He’s also good from a quantity perspective, as he will add depth to the squad, with Jack Wilshere leaving the club this summer. With Wilshere gone, Arsenal will have Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Mohamed Elneny and potentially Lucas Torreira in central midfield. Given the team’s injury record and the vast amount of games to be played, having an addition in Banega will be welcome. Then there’s the competition factor, with these players fighting for positions in the squad.
These are just rumors so I’d take them with a pinch of salt, but I certainly wouldn’t mind me some Ever Banega in my new look Arsenal team.
Sayonara
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