Arsenal January Transfer News
Arsene Wenger is apparently interested in Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic as a replacement for long-term injury concern Santi Cazorla, who is struggling with a chronic Achilles problem. Cazorla’s absence has weighed heavily on Arsenal during the midfielder’s injury spells in each of two seasons. So perhaps it’s natural that Arsene Wenger would be looking for a direct replacement to the 32-year-old Spaniard, with free bets offering a triple the odds on a possible transfer.
He may have found his man in Miralem Pjanic, the Bosnia international who has quickly become a key part of Juventus’ midfield engine. Reports also suggest that Wenger has contacted the Juventus star but even then signing Pjanic in the January transfer window is highly unlikely, though Arsenal will set to test Juventus’ resolve with a £28m offer for the midfielder.
Pjanic has many of the same attributes that make Cazorla such a key part of Arsenal’s plans: a quick passing game, great vision, good at dribbling and excellent from set-pieces. And like Cazorla, Pjanic can drop deep to receive the ball from the back four and quickly instigate an attack. As a like-for-like replacement, Pjanic would fill Cazorla’s boots in a more natural way than Granit Xhaka or Aaron Ramsey, who both have differing playing styles.
Pjanic has made 19 appearances for Juventus this season in the Serie A and Champions League combined, with a return of 6 goals and 6 assists.
On paper, Pjanic looks like an ideal replacement for Cazorla and Wenger’s interest may well be genuine. But there are several reasons for why a deal remains unlikely, at least in the short term.
There’s the small matter of convincing Juventus to sell. The Serie A giants paid €32 million for Pjanic this past summer and signed him on a five-year deal so would have little reason to let him go already. Also, the midfielder has been immense since the departure of Paul Pogba.