After Arsenal’s hugely disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of a fairly average Monaco side, I’m sure the club’s coaches, playing staff and fans have been doing a bunch of soul searching. Something’s rotten at the very core of The Gunners’ team.
With Arsene Wenger in charge, they’ve never been able to get rid of their soft core. When they had players like Gilberto Silva and Patrick Viera at the club, this was never really a big issue. Since their exit, Arsenal have been lacking in competitive edge and it’s seriously effected their ability to win silverware.
This must go part of the way towards explaining how a player as slow, sluggish and generally uninterested as Dimitar Berbatov was able to lead counter-attacks against this Arsenal team on multiple occasions last Wednesday night.
Thankfully, it does look as though The Professor is on the hunt for some more defensive talent in this area of the pitch. That’s why The Gunners keep getting linked to Southampton star, Morgan Schneiderlin.
The Frenchman’s reputation has grown considerably over the last two seasons. He’s now widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s best defensive midfielders. He’s tall, he’s physically commanding and he’s good on the ball. He strikes me as the perfect all rounder and a natural fit for this Arsenal team.
He’d certainly be an improvement over Francis Coquelin, who put in a couple of good performances earlier this season (one in particular, against Manchester City, stood out), but since then has faded into anonymity.
Unfortunately for Arsene Wenger and co., their club isn’t the only interested party. According to The Metro, Barcelona are considering making a £21.9m bid for the French battler. Southampton aren’t going to be willing to let the player go without a fight, either.
Still, the aforementioned source does hint that Arsenal should be able to beat Barcelona’s bid, which seems to put them in pole position for a summer deal. One thing’s for sure: something needs to be done to fix Arsene Wenger’s side.
What’s your take? Should Arsenal go head-to-head with Barcelona over a potential deal for Morgan Schneiderlin?
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.