Lars Bender:
Both Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini aren’t the kind of imposing players in the middle of the park who can disrupt the opposition flow of attacks and help build from the back. A central defensive midfielder should be the Gunners’ priority and reports from Dailymail claim that Wenger is plotting a move for Bayer Leverkusen’s midfielder Lars Bender.
Arsenal failed with a £19m bid for the German star last summer, but having seen Arteta and Flamini time and again been out played by their premier league opponents this season, Wenger should go all out for Bender and land him.
Bender is just the kind of player Arsenal need in their armoury, who is adept to playing as an anchorman and possessing accurate passing coupled with being very comfortable in possession. Leverkusen have slipped away in the Bundesliga table after a strong start and with manager Sami Hyypia being shown the door, it is believed that the midfielder will also be soon out of the Bay Arena.
Let’s look at some of his defensive stats. Bender has managed to win 52% of the duels he was involved with in this season. A number which is a testament to his defensive contribution for Leverkusen in comparison with Arteta’s 48%. The German has further made 49 important clearances, 34 interceptions and 10 blocks.
The only area where Bender lacks behind Arteta and Flamini is his passing accuracy, but again he is more of a box to box type of player and loves to be on the defensive side of the game. Bender along with Ramsey and Wilshere can form a formidable partnership in the anchor role while his interceptions in the middle of the park will be useful for the likes of Ozil and Cazorla to take the attacks forward.