There’s been a desire for Arsenal to add a holding midfielder to their ranks for some time. The specific term “holding midfielder” is often the stimulus for debate amongst fans. Does that moniker infer the player is, in effect, implicitly what the term suggests? A guy who will “hold up play (in the midfield)”? Someone who will be charged with sitting in-front of a bank of defenders and focus on chasing down loose balls, like a dog after a bone? Well, it usually depends on who you ask. But effectively and universally, the specific term is usually reserved for a midfield player who is in the team to add defensive stability and ideally allow his fellow midfielders the freedom to put an emphasis on the attacking side of their game.
Now there’s been much debate, often frenzied, that Arsene Wenger’s preference to play Mikel Arteta in the “holding role” has been/is a weak link in the Arsenal midfield chain. At the risk of walking through treacle and opening up that emotive can of worms this article will skirt over that topic. What is topical and relevant however is the fact that Arteta is currently injured and his absence has meant that Mathieu Flamini has been drafted in to fill the void left by the immaculately haired Spaniard. Flamini might not have the passing range, stylish approach to midfield play and he certainly doesn’t have the precision haircut, but he does have mobility, aggression and a desire to tackle anything with a pulse, in that respect there’s a good argument that the Frenchman is possibly better suited to such a specific and important position. Flamini’s re-introduction to the first-team also further highlights Arsenal’s weakness and lack of depth in that position. Currently there are but two first-team players who can confidently lay claim to being at a level to to anchor the midfield at Premier League level (and some dispute their ability to do that).
So attention turns to the rabid calls for Wenger to go into the transfer market, before the window slams aggressively shut in the next few days and sign a midfield lynchpin, to not only added much needed depth, but ideally give Arsenal a notable improvement in what is such a vital position in the modern game!
William Carvalho ladies and gentlemen. Now to the vast majority of you reading this, it’s inevitable tou’ve heard the name, you’ve read the rumours, maybe you’re even sick to the back teeth of speculating if this unkempt, yet dynamic prospect will be lining up alongside Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey in the not too distant future? The reason for this article is that the relevant assorted sports/football media is cock-a-hoop with “Sporting offer Carvalho to Arsenal” talk as we enter the final throws of the European transfer window.
So, what does Carvalho offer? He offers a physical prowess, decent distribution, a desire to “get stuck in” and a lot of potential. He also offers Arsenal, Wenger and the gentlemen in charge of the clubs purse-strings a dilemma.
Angolan born Carvalho is every bit the midfield holding player, he’s also touted to be capable of playing centreback if and when called upon. He’s turned heads in Europe, notably last season, with some impressive displays for his club (Sporting Lisbon). At 22 years of age the player is believed to be very much open to the idea of plying his trade outside of the Portuguese top flight. Manchester United amongst others were actively scouting Carvalho and more recently he’s not exactly a “well kept secret”.
Alas Sporting’s willingness to part with one of their star turns goes hand-in-hand with the demand that they’ll only part with their much admired midfield lynchpin under the provison that any buyer is going to have to part with a sizable amount of money. Naturally speculation on any would-be fee varies, although reporters close to the Lisbon giants suggest that although Sporting are in a spot of hot water financially, they will certainly not be persuaded to part with the player “on the cheap”. In fact it’s abundantly clear that any club looking to make Carvalho theirs is going to have to part with “at least 30 million Euros”. In the modern game that’s not exactly an outrageous fee. But for a guy who has only played his professional career in Portugal and Belgium (he was previously loaned to Cercle Brugge) and has but 6 International appearances under his belt (for Portugal), such a fee might well be pushing the envelope.
Just to muddy the waters further, it’s also strongly suggested that Sporting will demand “10 or 2 players on-loan” from Arsenal should a deal be brokered between the two clubs. There’s no strict line on who the said player(s) will be, although exciting young German attacker Serge Gnabry’s name has cropped up and it’s thought that snaring the exciting Gnabry for a season might well go some way to greasing the wheels into persuading Sporting to part with Carvalho.
They say that “time is infinite”, but with the prospect of the transfer window closing soon, that certainly isn’t the case for clubs desperate to add to their ranks and make a full-frontal assault on their respective domestic campaigns. Arsenal have pressing matters with regards to adding to their squad if they’re to have a realistic shout of improving on their achievements last season (as satisfying and symbolic as their FA Cup Final victory was).
Some may even go as far to say that Wenger and Gazidis are “desperate” to square the circle and add the finishing touches to what is, on paper at least a very impressive roster of players. However, those cracks that need filling, namely in the shape of a central defender, holding midfielder and (very possibly) another striker are most certainly telling and failure to address that situation will very likely have negative implications on Arsenal’s quest to make an assertive and genuine push for the Premier League title.
Whilst on the face of it Arsenal surely are fighting against the clock and very possibly fellow pushy club chairmen demanding lots of money for their prized assets, Arsenal are seldom a club that allows themselves to be held to ransom. The Carvalho deal might well go down to the wire, equally, as I type this article, Wenger may well be looking at the fax or printed Email with Sporting Lisbon headed notepaper reading “It’s 30 million Euros and Gnabry on-loan, or nothing” and tossing it into the waste-paper basket.
Either way, it’s a point of interest, certainly for Arsenal fans, many of who fear another season of Arteta and Flamini as their only dogs of war in the centre of the park. Deadline day is on the horizon and as always with Arsenal Football clubs, you don’t know wether to expect fireworks or a sodden party-popper.
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