Arsenal Linked With Hirving Lozano as a Replacement For Mesut Ozil

Lozano shot to prominence for his performances during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He has been on fire for PSV this season, netting 15 times and setting up nine more in 28 appearances in all competitions. The 23-year-old winger is Arsenal’s main target to replace the out-of-favour Mesut Özil.

Arsenal would’ve preferred to snap up Lozano, who has a contract till June 2023 with PSV, this January only. But, financial restrictions, as well as PSV’s £35 million price tag, have made any winter negotiations impossible.

The interest in Lozano comes at a time when Mesut Özil’s time at the Emirates looks numbered. Arsenal boss Unai Emery has little to no faith in the German and has repeatedly benched him or omitted him from matchday squads altogether.

Therefore, Arsenal have been looking for a suitable replacement ever since, with a plethora of talented midfielders like Gelson Martins and Denis Suarez being heavily linked with the Gunners.

Financial Implications

However, extreme financial limitations have left room only for loan deals, and whilst the arrival of Denis Suarez from Barcelona is all but imminent, Arsenal are keeping their options open with Hirving Lozano. According to talkSPORT, Arsenal have even seemingly completed the loan move for the Barcelona star.

No one doubts Hirving Lozano’s talent and his goalscoring record speaks for itself. Adding to that, his pace and linkup play is something Arsenal have missed since Alexis Sanchez left for Manchester United. The addition of Lozano will undoubtedly help the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette find the ball at the right places.

However, the area in which there are dark clouds is his attitude. Lozano is famous for his fiery and confrontational attitude which has seen him being sent off eight times in his short career. For an Arsenal squad lacking any sort of proper leadership, the last thing they’d want is another hothead to accompany the likes of Granit Xhaka.

If Emery can install a sense of calm into the head of ‘Chucky’ (a nickname he earned for scaring his teammates) and hone his immense potential, Arsenal can end up with a Luis Suarez or Ibrahimovic on their hands. However, if Emery fails to do his job, they might just end up with a Joey Barton.

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