Blogs

Why Arsenal need to push ahead with this £14m Premier League signing:

|
Image for Why Arsenal need to push ahead with this £14m Premier League signing:

Cheick Tiote (Ivory Coast)With the end of the transfer window fast approaching, The Gunners still seem to be on the hunt for a defensive midfielder. They’re going to need to act quickly if they’re to wrap up this deal in time.

An injury to Mikel Arteta makes Arsenal’s need even more pressing. If nobody else is brought in, The Gunners could end up a little short of options in this area (in a particularly tough section of their season).

They’ve been linked to some banner options including Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira, Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho and Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin. All of them would make for excellent additions to Arsenal’s squad.

But none of them are the subject of this article. Here we’re going to focus on a player who’s not quite so well regarded: Newcastle battler Cheick Tiote.

The Metro suggest that Arsenal are ‘hopeful’ of agreeing a deal for the £14m midfielder. They also suggest that Arsene Wenger will face interest from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow, who have already had an £8m bid for Chieck Tiote turned down by Mike Ashley and co.

If Arsenal fans aren’t all that keen on Cheick Tiote, they won’t be too pleased to see his price-tag. £14m is a lot of money to spend on a player who’s best known for being a yellow-card magnet.

This, of course, is a little reductive. The Ivorian Coast international has bag-loads of Premier League experience and he’s proven over the years that he has plenty of defensive nous. What’s more, he may just have the competitive edge that Arsenal desperately need.

Whilst Mikel Arteta is excellent in possession, he’s not got much physical presence. With Mathieu Flamini getting on in years, bringing in an option like Cheick Tiote looks smart.

If Arsene Wenger can negotiate Newcastle down to a fairer price, then it’d be hard to disagree with this deal. It may not create much excitement among this fan base, but it could prove to be an astute purchase.

What’s your take? Should The Gunners make a move for Cheick Tiote? Is his current price-tag too expensive?

Please follow @ThePerfectPass for more football related action!

ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.

Share this article

Editor-in-Chief at ThisisFutbol. Please feel free to get in touch if you have question, queries, comments or just fancy having a rant.

Our email address is: thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com, if you don't fancy getting stuck in in the comment's section.