If there’s a young, talented French footballer out there, there’s a good chance that they’ll end up getting linked to Arsenal. Their manager, Arsene Wenger, is renowned for his knowledge of Ligue 1 and French footballers in general.
In the past, he’s been more than willing to pluck up the best footballers that the French nation have to offer. And why wouldn’t he? By doing so he’s ended up with footballers like Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera and Robert Pires. Not bad, eh?
In recent times, however, that particular well has started to run dry. Despite Alan Pardew’s current French infatuation over at Newcastle, Ligue 1 is not the source of talent that it used to be. This probably explains why Wenger has started to trail German players when building the current iteration of this Arsenal team (Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Serge Gnabry).
But Wenger will be well aware that there are still gifted players in French football. Take, for instance, Lyon’s midfield prodigy, Clement Grenier. According to The Mirror, Arsenal made a move for the 22-year-old last summer, but had their bid turned down. It’s thought that Arsene Wenger could be tempted to make another move for him during the January transfer window.
The fact that Wenger is interested in signing yet another creative midfielder is testament to Grenier’s ability. The Gunners can already rely upon Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky and others. They’re hardly lacking in this area.
But the young Frenchman could be a worthy addition. He’s got technical ability to spare, he’s extremely effective on the ball and he’s more than capable of picking out a game-winning pass. His reputation at such a young age really is quite remarkable.
That’s why he’s earned a £12.5m (or 15m euros) price-tag. He has the potential to become something very special indeed. This is surely all the more true, if he were to train and play under Arsene Wenger’s guidance. As we’ve already noted, nobody knows gifted young footballers like Wenger.
If anybody is to get the most out of Grenier, it’ll be him.
I’m sure that this is a move that will have Arsenal fans scoffing due to the apparent lack of necessity behind it. But if it went ahead it would still excite me. It’s the kind of signing that could well help to secure the club’s future.
What’s your take? Would you like to see Arsenal stay on the trail of Clement Grenier?
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