Why Arsenal should beat Tottenham to sign Roma star Amadou Diawara

Amadou Diawara has sparked a transfer battle between Arsenal and Tottenham over his signature after lashing out at Roma (source – The Sun). The midfielder and his agent were unhappy at what was happening at Roma, with the player not being registered on time for the first match and just a substitute appearance in the last game.

Profile

The 23-year-old Guinean midfielder started his youth career at Syli Authentic in 2010 before moving to FC Sequence after two seasons. It was not until his transfer to San Marino that he got to play first-team football.

He played just one season for the club and appeared in 15 games. The next season, he was signed by Bologna. He got to feature on a much more frequent basis, with 35 appearances in a year.

Napoli signed him after that season and while he did appear on a more sporadic basis, he ended up with 74 appearances, 2 goals and an assist (source – Transfermarkt). After three seasons at the club, he moved to Roma last season.

He played some of his best football at Roma and managed to grab a goal and an assist. Diawara has also played 10 games for his national side.

Why Arsenal should sign him ahead of Tottenham

Despite the FA Cup and Community Shield wins, Arsenal are still very much a work in progress. Under Mikel Arteta, they have shown considerable improvement but there are still areas that need attention. One of them or perhaps the most important one is the midfield.

Their two first choice central-midfielders are Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka. There’s not much to say about Ceballos but Xhaka has a propensity to drop an occasional 1/10 performance that takes the team down with him.

Arsenal have lacked a solid defensive midfielder since the days of Patrick Vieira which is saying a lot. Lucas Torreira came close to fulfilling the role but fizzled out after impressing initially. This has left a gaping hole in their midfield with little to no protection offered to the defenders.

Verdict

Amadou Diawara is a viable alternative to Thomas Partey, who is one of Arsenal’s targets for the defensive-midfield position.

With just about a week left in the transfer window, Arsenal need to get someone to bolster their midfield or they could be looking at a season with their current stock of sub-par midfielders. They should go all out for Diawara and Tottenham in their pursuit of him.