Michael Thomas has claimed that he is glad Arsenal didn’t sign Arthur in January, before naming three alternatives that he would like to see join.
The Gunners were strongly linked the Juventus midfielder last month, but we ended up failing to bring in any additions before the window slammed shut, and they will likely re-enter into the market for a new CM in the summer.
While there is always the potential that we could return to try and sign the Brazilian from the Turin club again in the coming months, Thomas insists that he would prefer to look elsewhere, naming three alternatives that he would prefer to see arrive.
“I wasn’t convinced about Arthur coming to Arsenal,” Thomas told CaughtOffside. “I see him as a really good ball player, but he doesn’t possess the physical attributes to get around the pitch to complement that ability.
“I would have much rather seen us go in for Yves Bissouma or Renato Sanches. Those are two players with amazing engines and can definitely play at the highest level.
“One player I have been really impressed with is Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa. I think he has at least another year there, but would love to see him join Arsenal.
“Going forward for the rest of the season I think the best partnership is a Partey and Xhaka pivot, however they as senior players need to be on top of their game and help the team massively towards their targets.”
I can’t help but be impressed by Ramsey also, but I agree that he is too raw to make such a move. While I agree with MT about his reservations surrounding Arthur, I’m not sold on Renato Sanches either. Yves Bissouma would easily be my pick of the four to come in this summer, while I wouldn’t be against trying to land one of Chelsea’s midfielders. They have more than they can use in Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Gilmour, Gallagher, Mount, Barkley and the on-loan Saul Niguez, and I would love to see one of Kante, Kovacic or Gallagher if we could make it happen.
Who would you most like to see added to the Arsenal CM options this summer?
Patrick