Whilst Arsene Wenger is known for his knowledge of French football and his desire to cultivate French talent, in recent times it’s the German contingent at Arsenal that have sparked the club back to life.
The £42.4m signing of German midfielder Mesut Ozil could act as a catalyst for the Gunners winning silverware this season. His arrival at the Emirates has helped raise levels of belief, got the fans back on side and has forced other players to raise their games.
This could be the most important signing that Arsene Wenger has ever made.
But let’s not diminish the signing of fellow Germans Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker. Prince Poldi is one of the finest finishers in world football and has a pretty tasty cross on him. Mertesacker, on the other hand, has managed to single-handedly revolutionise Arsenal’s back-four.
All of a sudden Arsenal are playing with some defensive clarity. The big German’s leadership qualities and his strength in the air have been a real boon for the club.
Given the success that Wenger has had with these German players and the strength of the German international team as a whole, it really wouldn’t surprise me if the club went after some more Bundesliga-based talent.
This brings me to The Mirror‘s claim that Arsenal are hot on the trail of Borussia Dortmund’s ace German international midfielder, Ilkay Gundogan. This is news that has me very excited indeed. The source backs up their claims with quotes from Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke:
“It is our absolute desire that besides Robert Lewandowski no other regular player leaves the club. Only in the case of Ilkay Gundogan, we do not yet know how it will turn out. We would love to extend [a contract] with him.”
I’m sure Gundogan’s suitors will be delighted to see his current club’s ambiguity when it comes to his future.
It’s thought that interested parties will have to shell out £25m to force Dortmund to sell. That’s a lot of money, especially considering that Arsenal already have a lot of impressive central midfielders among their ranks.
But there’s no doubting that Gundogan is one of the best midfielders in Europe. What’s more, at 23-years-old, he’s only going to get better. He would improve pretty much any team in the world and Arsenal are no exception (indeed, Real Madrid are also thought to be interested).
With that in mind, I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed to see the Gunners add to their German contingent.
What’s your take? Should Arsenal swoop in for this German sensation?
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