Why Arsenal should revive their interest in Florian Thauvin

An earlier report from Daily Star had claimed that Unai Emery was eyeing a swoop for Marseille’s wide man Florian Thauvin in the summer. However, the move did not quite materialize and the Frenchman has continued to weave his magic in the Ligue 1.

Florian Thauvin started his professional career with Grenoble and then moved to Bastia but rose to prominence with some eye-catching displays during his two-year stint with Marseille, where he burst on to the scene with some impressive displays.

Newcastle United signed him in 2015 but the 25-year-old couldn’t fulfil his promise at Tyneside, scoring just a single goal from 16 outings across all competitions. Consequently, he was loaned back to Marseille and he rediscovered his mojo once again. As a result, his former club made his stay permanent in 2017.

And the Frenchman has been in tremendous form since then. The 25-year-old racked up 26 goals and 18 assists last season and his remarkable form earned him a place in France’s World Cup-winning squad.

He has continued his merry way in the new campaign as well, scoring six times in eight appearances for Marseille in the Ligue 1.

The Frenchman’s jaw-dropping stats should be enough for Arsenal to revive their interest and his performances in the current season have proven that he is far from a one season wonder.

After a tough start to the season, the Gunners have gone all guns blazing in the Premier League with five consecutive victories and their 2-0 win over Watford last weekend powered them to the top five in the standings.

Primarily a right-winger by trade, Thauvin is equally capable of playing through the centre of the park in the attacking third. A player blessed with fine flair and a wonderful technique, he combines his technical abilities with his agility and sharpness to leave the defenders bamboozled.

He excels as an inverted winger on the right side of the pitch which allows him to cut inside with his stronger left foot. At the same time, he can also get into the central areas to score goals. The Frenchman is adept at firing pile drivers with his left foot from the edge of the box after cutting inside from the right. His athleticism and instant acceleration, coupled with wonderful dribbling skills, make him a potent threat down the flanks.

However, he is far from a one-trick pony. A good crosser of the ball, he has the ability to find the target man in the box with perfectly-weighted crosses and his versatility and dynamism account for his impressive goalscoring record.

Arsenal have often used Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down the right but the Gabonese international is a more potent threat in front of the goal. Although Alex Iwobi has put in some good shifts this season, he is yet to cement a place in the starting line-up.

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Arsenal should be wary of the fact that they need to bring in someone to cover for Aaron Ramsey’s potential departure either in January or next summer. One way they could do that is by shifting Mesut Ozil to the playmaker’s position and signing Florian Thauvin as the right-winger.

The Frenchman couldn’t make a mark in the Premier League last time around but with the kind of form he has shown in recent times, few would dare to back against him enjoying success at the Emirates. That said, Arsenal should definitely revive their interest in Thauvin as it would be too harsh to label him just a ‘Newcastle flop’.