Unai Emery
Few players in the Premier League have divided opinions like Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil has. Now in his 30s, Arsenal have started to look for replacements for the former Real Madrid man with the Mirror reporting that James Rodriguez is their top target.
The Colombian international, like Ozil, has divided opinions during his time at Real Madrid and even now at Bayern Munich. While he was a revelation in his first year at the club, the second one hasn’t gone according to plan with Bayern Munich struggling. Rodriguez has had his fair share of troubles with injuries so far with a calf injury keeping him out for most of the 2018 World Cup.
This led to new boss Niko Kovac resting the 27-year-old but reports from German news outlet Bild have revealed that a rift between manager and player played a major role in that. However, for Arsenal, bringing in the Colombian would be a splendid move if he didn’t cost so much. It has been revealed by the Mirror that the Premier League giants would have to spend around £63million to convince Real Madrid to sell over the summer.
But will Rodriguez be useful to Arsenal, given the fact that the Gunners not only need defensive reinforcements but also someone to replace Aaron Ramsey? Spending £63million on a struggling attacking midfielder makes no sense for Arsenal, especially while they still have Ozil firing on all cylinders. The German has struggled this season, but at the same time, he was also handed the captain’s armband and played his part in a few wonder goals.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, can be a menace to any defence when fit. His eye for a pass and his lethal left-foot are second to none. His abilities behind a dead-ball add to his creative flair but he isn’t the right target. At the moment, the Gunners need – as mentioned a million times before – a defensive giant. If they do have that kind of money, it needs to be invested there.
Arsenal’s attacking line-up boats the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan among others which means they are set. While they could use another world-class midfielder, they should be worried about the fact that Laurent Koscielny is 33 and is in dire need of a replacement.
Sokratis was brought in over the summer but even the Greek international is on the wrong side of 30 and isn’t getting any younger. Thus, Arsenal should avoid signing James Rodriguez for the time being.
