Much has been said about an alleged lack of quality in Arsenal’s midfield line and the Gunners head coach, Arsene Wenger, seems to be aware of such issue. The London team has reportedly tried to sign some talented centre midfielders, such as Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira and Sporting Lisbon’s powerful youngster William Carvalho, but negotiations have apparently gone down the drain, whether due to wages issues or because of ludicrous demands regarding transfer fees.
According to recent reports from the English media, the Gunners are allegedly interested in signing Wolfsburg’s defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo. The media are stating that the London team’s scouts went to Germany to watch the Brazilian international footballer in action during his team’s match against Bayern Munich last Friday. There are also some rumours that mention the hypothetical interest of Wolfsburg in Arsenal’s versatile German forward, Lukas Podolski, something that would eventually facilitate the move of Luiz Gustavo to London.
The Brazilian defensive midfielder was one of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men of trust and he played a major role at the Canarinha during that manager’s two years leadership at the helm of the team.
Luiz Gustavo is an extremely competent player and he is particularly known for his impressive marking and tackling skills. At the age of 27, the Brazilian footballer has spent the majority of his professional career in German football, ever since he arrived at Hoffenheim seven years ago when he was still very young and completely unknown in the Old Continent.
Luiz Gustavo built his reputation at the Bundesliga and he is seen as one of the best defensive midfielders currently playing at the German football. Although he is clearly limited when it comes to building his team’s game from behind, Luiz Gustavo’s outstanding work rate and stamina somewhat compensate for his less impressive passing skills and game vision.
Taking a closer look at Arsenal’s midfield line, one might say that Luiz Gustavo would be a perfect fit, since he would certainly be able to be the much needed defensive pendulum that would create an equilibrium between the Gunner’s back lines. On the other hand, it is also fair to say that it is difficult to imagine Arsene Wenger relegating Mikel Arteta or Aaron Ramsey to a bench warming condition, since the Spanish midfielder is the current team’s captain and the Welshman is of major importance at the ongoing Arsenal’s strategy.
As for the other options Wenger has for that particular position, they will certainly not constitute a barrier to Luiz Gustavo’s move to the Emirates Stadium, since Abou Diaby is constantly at the club’s infirmary and Mathieu Flamini probably doesn’t have what is needed to fulfil such an important task.
