Why signing Corentin Tolisso would bring more creativity to Arsenal’s midfield
According to Foot Mercato (h/t Daily Mail), Premier League side Arsenal are considering a summer move for Bayern Munich star Corentin Tolisso.
The French midfielder has fallen down the pecking order under new boss Hans Flick this season, making just 13 league appearances. Meanwhile, many clubs including Arsenal and rivals Manchester United are looking to make the best of this opportunity to land the 25-year-old.
Tolisso, who moved to the German giants from French side Lyon was a World Cup winner with France. He has been restricted to the sidelines this season after falling behind midfielders Joshua Kimmich and Thiago Alcantara.
Despite an impressive debut season for the German giants, scoring 9 goals and providing 6 assists from 35 games, Tolisso’s career has suffered a major setback after sustaining a cruciate ligament rupture in 2018.
His progress with the Munich outfit has now been stunted with the side’s rest of the stars making a bigger impact than him despite his return from injury last year. Tolisso has never looked the same after his ligament tear, with knee and calf problems continuing to haunt the Frenchman. He missed a few matches this season too due to injury.
However, Tolisso has still managed to score 3 goals and 5 assists from 24 matches across all competitions, thus making complete sense of Arsenal’s interest in him. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are on the lookout for a new midfielder with their on-loan star Dani Ceballos set to make a return to his parent club Real Madrid at the end of this campaign.
The Frenchman, who has played 160 games for Lyon and 68 for Bayern respectively is an experienced campaigner and will be something Arteta’s team will require at the moment. Lack of creativity in the middle had seen Arsenal score a mere 40 goals from their 29 league outings – a major share of which has been scored by their talismanic striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arsenal’s midfield which includes the likes of veteran Mesut Ozil, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi has been far from impressive, which has seen them drop to a lowly ninth in the league standings.
Hence, roping in a midfielder of Tolisso’s mould would be a huge blessing for Arteta’s side ahead of next season. Moreover, a regular until last season, Tolisso would be itching for some game time and a move to the Emirates would be a win-win for both the parties.
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Verdict
With Ceballos’ future remaining an uncertainty and veteran Ozil’s poor form a cause of concern, Arsenal clearly need an established midfielder and who better than the experienced Tolisso. Moreover, being on the sidelines for this long, Tolisso will be waiting to get back onto the pitch and prove a point – something which he could do at Arsenal.
A veteran of 228 matches, there is no doubting Tolisso’s talent and he would be a good signing for Arsenal if they plan to make a move in the summer.
