Maitland Niles and Sambi Lokonga received plenty of plaudits for their performances against Watford prior to the international break, stepping up to replace the injured Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey. All to predictably Arteta has found himself without his preferred midfield options. It’s a situation most Arsenal fans will have foreshadowed as Tomiyasu became the final signing of the summer window, but one Arteta and Edu took the calculated risk to proceed with rather than panic buying, having failed in their attempts to sign Manuel Locatelli.
Man City arrive at the Emirates on New Years Day for our Premier League return fixture, at which time Granit Xhaka may well still be unavailable, whilst Partey and Elneny will be heading out to join up with their with international teammates for the African Cup of Nations. There may be very little Arteta and Edu can do in time for City game, but they will have 15 days before the second North London Derby of the season.
Thomas Partey remained at London Colney over the international break with a groin injury, meaning Maitland Niles and Sambi Lokonga could well run out together again when Arsenal take on Liverpool in front of the Kop this Saturday. Their performance will either settle the nerves or cause mass hysteria amongst the faithful. I had written off Arsenal’s chances of nicking a point at Anfield, but Liverpool are 2 games without a win and will have some major injury concerns of their own. Needless to say, Arsenal need to recruit even more so, if as reported Mohamed Elneny seals a move away in January.
No one player Arsenal have been linked to in recent weeks looks any more concrete than the last. The obvious choice might be Monchengladbach star and Granit Xhaka’s Swiss understudy, Denis Zakaria. The 24-year-old has been a top performer for his side since his move from Young Boys in 2017 which has attracted the attention of every elite club in Europe. Zakaria will have no shortage of suitors come January, leaving Arteta and Edu needing short of a miracle to pull this signing off.
Two names mentioned last week that got me thinking were the links to RB Leipzig’s Tyler Adams and Bologna’s Mattias Svanberg. Both described as a box to box midfielder’s their attributes differ greatly. In a poll I conducted on Twitter recently 50% of the votes indicated that fans are on board with the idea a new box to box midfielder being the requirement Arsenal.
Tyler Adams is the latest in a crop of youngsters from North America to make a name for himself in Germany. Adams, in his own words, likens his style of play to N’Golo Kante and that is evident in watching him play and in comparing his stats to the Chelsea star. He’s got quite a way to go yet before he can be considered at the same level but he’s highly tipped by the people around him to achieve those heights. Another fact that might be of interest to you and Arteta, is that Tyler Adams is one of us. A childhood Arsenal fan, who was inspired by none other than the legendary Thierry Henry.
Towering over the diminutive 5ft7, Tyler Adams, is 6ft1, Swede, Mattias Svanberg. Unlike the 22yr old Adams, 22-year-old Svanberg is rapidly approaching his 100th game for his club. Svanberg has been a solid starter for Serie A side Bologna, attracting the attention of a few premier league clubs this summer. The reason for the recent link to Arsenal might have something to do with the Man of the Match display he put in against Sampdoria just before the international break, grabbing a goal and an assist to win the game 2-1 away from home.
I must admit Svanberg is a player I have chosen to overlook in the last 2 seasons, despite matching my criteria there has just always better options, but his ability to affect the game in the final 3rd this season is starting to make him look a better contender. I have doubts over Svanberg, but he will certainly contribute to the attack more so than Tyler Adams.
Arsenal have tightened up at the back since those 3 early defeats of the season mostly without Granit Xhaka, but are still struggling to score goals. Mattias Svanberg might add an extra dimension to Arsenal’s attack, where as having someone like Tyler Adams in the team, could help Arsenal retain and recover the ball quicker, allowing the likes of Odegaard, Smith Rowe and Saka more opportunities to create their own chances.
Another Arsenal player once likened to Kante, was Lucas Torreira. Joining Arsenal at the age of 22, Torreira came with bags of potential and had the backing of the then Head of Recruitment, Sven Mislintat. 3 years on, Torreira has had a tough time proving his worth. Under Arteta, Torreira hasn’t been given a chance at all. There are likely 2 reasons in my mind for Arteta’s treatment of Lucas Torriera. In creating a culture of togetherness at the club, Arteta needs players who are committed and happy to be at the club, which for the homesick Uruguayan hasn’t been the case. The alternative could be Torreira’s stature? The signings of Partey and Lokonga suggest Arteta prefers players with particular physical traits that Torriera just simply doesn’t have. Could this be a reason why Arteta and Edu might hesitate to activate the 5ft7, Tyler Adams, £32m release clause?
As welcome as more goal-scoring opportunities would be at the Emirates, I don’t think Svanberg is the player to be keep not just Xhaka out of the first XI, but Sambi Lokonga too. Arsenal have more than enough attacking options and I believe Lokonga is yet to show Arsenal how effective he could be as No8, whilst Maitland Niles could yet stake a claim. I’ve never fancied Xhaka as a defensive midfielder, Partey lends so much to driving the attack that he’d be wasted as a No6, something I think will become evidently true of Lokonga too.
This is where I come to the conclusion that given the choice between Svanberg and Adams, I probably wouldn’t choose either. What Arsenal lack in my opinion, contrary to most of my fellow Gooner’s, is a midfield enforcer. Arsenal might look towards Svanberg’s Bolonga, midfield partner, Nicolas Dominiguez. Currently, the highest tackling player in Serie A, the 23yr old Argentine is flying under the radar and would be a more than a significant upgrade on Mohamed Elneny. At 23 years old he won’t add much experience to the Arsenal the first team, but if that was ever a problem, FC Koln’s 26 yr old Ellyes Skhiri is another fantastic No6 being overlooked by way too many in my opinion and he scores goals!
Not to cop out, between Adam’s and Svanberg, I am going to choose Adams. Adam’s is tipped to go far for good reason, he’s a player that excites to watch, something Arsenal were very much lacking before Smith Rowe started lighting up the pitch. He can help the transition from defence to attack in very much the same way Partey does. Svanberg be able to add a few more goals to Arsenal’s attack, but his passing ability still needs work and like Xhaka, he is not blessed with pace. Arsenal have plenty of players who could be doing more to create goal-scoring opportunities and I don’t believe Mattias Svanberg is the key to unlocking the floodgate. Besides, how could I possibly opt against a fellow Gooner and miss the chance to sing “Tyler Adam’s, he’s one of own”?
What do you think? Be sure to leave your comments below! In my efforts to convince Edu to hire me as a scout I’m going to need your help! If you enjoyed reading, please share and retweet my article! For more, follow me on Twitter @Alex_theKypreo and @thearsreview!