The ideal replacement to fill the Clichy void?

Arsene Wenger wants to sign Lyon left-back Aly Cissokho to replace the departed Gael Clichy, according to reports in France.

It is thought that Cissokho could cost Arsenal up to £11 million for his services, as he has three-years left on his current contract.

The 23-year-old Frenchman has been with Lyon since 2009, although the move did have its complications in a transfer saga that just has to be read to be believed.

Cissokho, who was playing for Porto at the time, was the subject of a €15 million deal to move to A.C. Milan.

On the 14th of June 2009, the Serie A outfit announced that they had signed the full-back, subject to a medical. Cissokho underwent his medical on the 16th of June. However, the very next day it was revealed that the Frenchman had failed it due to a problem with his teeth that indicated impending spinal problems. Due to this, the move was on the verge of collapsing.

Later that day, the Lyon defender declared that he had passed a second medical, and that he had signed a pre-contract agreement. Meanwhile, the Italian giants tried to re-negotiate the bid, and instead take Cissokho on a loan deal due to his health concerns. However, both Milan and Porto failed to reach an agreement, which left Milan vice-president, Adriano Galliani, announcing that the deal had been cancelled.

Evidently, this paved the way for Lyon to make their move for the left-back, and within the following month, the French club had announced that they had reached an agreement with Porto for the transfer of Cissokho, in a deal which equalled Milan’s €15 million bid.

All in all he does look like a good signing for Arsenal. However, is it another case of ‘just another name’ that has been linked with the club, or is he in fact a concrete transfer target?

I believe Cissokho has all the attributes to succeed at the Emirates. He has been described as a ‘sprightly left-back with good speed and stamina’ and is also very technically sound and a strong full-back. The only thing that concerns me is the player’s potential health problems, but I’m sure Wenger and his backroom staff have already taken this into consideration.

The €15 million (approximately £13.4 million) price-tag shouldn’t be a problem for Wenger this summer, especially if he wishes to strengthen his side for the upcoming season.

In all honesty, I think only time will tell if this deal will in fact go through. We definitely need someone to fill the space left by Clichy’s departure, and we need to fill it sooner rather than later.

Nonetheless, would Cissokho be an ideal replacement for Clichy?

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