Have Arsenal already agreed this £25m Premier League deal?

The Gunners were recently hit with a bit of bad injury news (as they have been a number of times this season), relating to Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy. Both players will be out of action for the next three months. How unlucky can one club be?

Mathieu Debuchy can be covered by the likes of Calum Chambers and Hector Bellerin (who’s lightning quick). Mikel Arteta, on the other hand, isn’t so easy to replace. He’s the one man in Arsenal’s squad who’s capable of controlling possession.

He’s usually placed in front of the back four in order to mop up any loose balls and provide a link between defense and attack. I’d argue that he’s more important to The Gunners than many are willing to believe. His replacements/alternative options certainly aren’t as good. I wouldn’t back either Mathieu Flamini or Francis Coquelin to be a part of a title-winning squad.

With this in mind, many fans are hoping that Arsene Wenger will sign somebody else in the January transfer window. Somebody who can pick up Mikel Arteta’s mantle.

One name that keeps popping up belongs to Morgan Schneiderlin, Southampton’s dynamic holding midfielder. It strikes me that the Frenchman could well prove to be the natural heir to Mikel Arteta at The Emirates.

After all he’s technically gifted and he’s a neat, intelligent passer of the ball. What’s more, he’s probably a better defender than the Spaniard is. He’s physically imposing, good in the air and he takes up smart positions.

Having him in the squad could make all the difference to The Gunners. He could prove to be as important to Arsenal as Nemanja Matic is to Chelsea.

As it happens, The Metro claim that Arsenal have already ‘agreed’ a £25m deal to sign Schneiderlin next summer. I’d prefer that it happened this January, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if this were true.

This is an area of Arsenal’s squad that Arsene Wenger desperately needs to fix. Now the fans just need to be patient.

What’s your take? Should Arsenal sign Morgan Schneiderlin this summer? Do they need a new defensive midfielder right away?

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