Should Arsenal attempt to lure Aly Cissokho to the Emirates this summer?

It all started with Mamadou Sakho. The Paris Saint Germain defender was linked to a move to the Premiership earlier this week, with Liverpool and Arsenal supposedly the most interested parties.

The rumour turned out to be mostly paper talk, as Sakho emerged from the changing rooms to tell the assembled journalists in no uncertain terms that he was not moving from PSG, so they’d just better forget about it! We’ll see what happens in Summer, eh Mamadou…

Needless to say that kind of took the wind out of a few commentators sails, not least my own. I’d posted a story about Sakho moving to England, so it came as a bit of a kick in the teeth to find that he wasn’t interested in a move to our green and pleasant land.

The latest rumour from Ligue 1 is a carbon copy of the Sakho story. Defender? Check. Plays for major French club? Check. Liverpool and Arsenal linked? Check. The only difference is, that this time the player is actually considering a move…

According to Graeme Bailey at Sky Sports (he initially broke the story) Lyon left-back Aly Cissokho is tempted by a move to the Premiership, believing himself to be perfectly suited to the English game. The 23 year old was quoted as saying:

‘The Premier League ‘is a league that suits me. It is a league where you can show power and get forward.’

The English game is a much more physical game than anything on the continent, with the pace and attacking style turned up to 11. And when you look at some of the attacking wing-backs we have in this league, Cissokho would fit right in.

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The point is that this is a pretty exciting link. Cissokho has been in good form for Lyon and has made 55 appearances for them since signing from Porto in 2009. No-one in the Premiership has been officially linked with the Frenchman, but the obvious candidates are Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Anyone outside of the big 5 might as well forget it though.

Cissokho fancies a move here, but he’s picky about who he’ll play for. He said:

‘Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool….(they) are the clubs you dream about.’

I’m not suggesting for one moment that this is a nailed on move. I don’t have a direct line to Cissokho or I’d ring him and ask him. What is important to note is that for once, it’s the player doing all the running.

Click HERE to see the original article. This article was first published on TransferTavern

Written by Peter Turner