Why This Turkish Captain Is Not The Right Man For Arsenal’s Midfield

Arsenal are desperately searching for a striker this summer, as they look to win that much awaited Premier League trophy. They were left frustrated As Leicester City pipped them to the title. Given the creative talent in the team, it is imperative that Wenger invests in a world class striker who can lead the attack and convert the numerous chances made by the likes of Sanchez, Ozil and Ramsey. Therefore it is very shocking that Arsenal have linked with midfielder rather than a striker recently. Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan is apparently out of favour and is soon heading for the exit door.

Just a year after his €40 million transfer from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona, Arda Turan has found himself out of grace at Camp Nou and in search for a new club, where he could get more playing time. If he does decide to leave the Catalonia club, it would be an utterly disappointing piece of business for both the player and the club. Its further frustrating after realizing that he was forced to wait for his Barcelona debut for almost six months as Barcelona were hit by a FIFA transfer ban and a 28-year-old attacking midfielder showed great desire and commitment in waiting for his turn.

With all of the attention focused on Barcelona’s main attacking trio Luis Suarez, Leo Messi and Neymar former Atletico Madrid star just could not find his place in the team’s dynamics.. Barcelona will want at least £25milliom for a player who signed for them in a last summer. Despite his hefty transfer fee, the Turkish international only managed 13 games in all competitions for Barca.  With more reports coming out regarding the tensions between barca and Turan, it is likely that more clubs are going to join the race to sign him.

Although he is a fantastic talent, who can raise the quality of any team in the world, it seems kind of wasteful to spend £25milliom on a position that already has enough players to fill in. There is also the case of what he once said before a crucial match for Atletico Madrid, the midfielder acknowledged Arsenal’s interest in him and said: “I was feeling that I would sign for Barca. Sincerely I thought: ‘If I play very well I will end up signing for Barca. If I play well I will end up at Arsenal.”

Turan is definitely not a youngster anymore, at 29 he is simply not that big an improvement on the options already available to Wenger. He might provide short term solutions to the right wing problem that Wenger is facing but it will be wise of the manager to invest in a player who is young and can make that right sided position his own for many years to come. Players like Draxler and Mahrez seem a better option over the Barce player. It is highly unlikely that Wenger will spend big on a midfielder till he doesn’t get his preferred striker.