Jack Grealish (Getty Images)
According to Sky Sports, Arsenal are interested in signing Aston Villa star Jack Grealish to bolster their attacking ranks.
A boyhood Villa fan, Grealish, 24, rose through the club’s youth ranks and made his debut for the Villans in the 2013/14 season. But after struggling for regular game time, a loan move to Notts County, where he excelled with 5 goals and 7 assists, helped him on his return. Since then, he has been an influential figure in the squad, helping them get promoted to the top-flight last summer.
His performances have improved a lot and he is a star now. The creative midfielder also helped his side secure their top-flight status with a crucial goal against West Ham on the final day of the league season. He has been in sensational form in the last couple of years and Arsenal should make a move for the English star this summer.
The Gunners endured a disappointing league campaign as they finished 8th in the table. But they managed to recover from humiliation since Mikel Arteta arrived last December. They have also made it to the FA Cup finals and seem to be improving steadily.
However, they have been inconsistent throughout the campaign due to a lot of injuries to key players and some of them were completely out of form. And to avoid that next season, they need to reinforce their squad with fresh faces. This could also help them progress in the future.
Arteta’s men managed to score 56 goals in the league this season but they did without much creativity from their midfielders. Former Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil is the only established attacking midfielder available at the manager’s disposal. But he failed miserably this season, managing just 1 goal and 2 assists, whilst also spending the majority of the campaign on the sidelines.
It was only because of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brilliance up front did they manage to score enough goals. But it is clear that with an in-form creative prospect, they could do better next season. In that regard, signing Grealish would be a wise decision by the club.
The Englishman has been in red-hot form in the last two campaigns and has managed to score 8 goals and provide 6 assists this term despite Villa not performing at their best. And he could be more effective with a frontline consisting of Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. He doesn’t seem to be a player of a relegation-battling club and Arsenal would be a suitable destination for Grealish.
The 24-year-old’s form shows he could only get better and could be a crucial player in terms of creativity for Arsenal in the following season. And if he is able to replicate the good form he has shown so far, he could soon take over from Ozil and lead the Gunners’ creative department.
At 24, he has already shown immense qualities and at the same time, Arsenal have lacked the quality from their midfielders. And Grealish could also provide them with some much-needed goals apart from his creativity. Thus, they should make a move for the Englishman and lure him to the Emirates at the earliest.
