Why we should answer the call of this French midfielder

It’s about that time of the year again when transfer rumours begin to surface as clubs look to build and add value and depth to their squads. In Arsenal’s case it will be more of a late replacement exercise finally being put into practice.

Since the departure of Alex Song last summer we have really suffered in finding a suitable replacement – no one seemed capable of stepping up to fill that role of a tenacious, tough-tackling and strong holding midfielder in our squad.

We have been linked in recent weeks with a suitable replacement though by the name of Maxime Gonalons, who has been tipped to come in and fill the hole that was left by Song.

Gonalons is considered one of the rising stars of French football. This influenced Arsenal’s France-based scout Gilles Grimandi to keep a close eye on this young prospect.

The 23-year-old was watched by Gunners scouts in both legs of Lyon’s Europa League games against Tottenham, as well as in the Ligue 1 match against Lorient last Sunday. With what must be positive feedback coming in from our French-based scout, Arsenal are now thought to be sending their top scout Steve Rowley to monitor the France international at least twice a week over a certain time period, with The Gunners keen to intensify their reported interest.

Gonalons is of course keeping a close eye on media reports himself. The possibility of signing him was greatly increased as his response to the likelihood of him playing in England seemed to be a positive one.

The Lyon midfielder told Spanish publication Fichajes.com earlier in the week:

‘I like the English and the German leagues.

‘When I see the pitch and that type of game, I feel it’s a dream.’

Arsenal are yet to decide whether or not to make a move for Gonalons. The poor relationship between Arsene Wenger and Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, according to the media, would make any potential transfer difficult. The friction between them has led to very few deals being done when either are involved. But with Aulas looking to cut down on the amount spent on wages, there is still hope of this move happening.

But with Gonalons value being placed at around £12million by the Ligue 1 club, would he really be worth it?

Well he has great composure on the ball and is a confident player. His strength on the ball as well as his control is at a good enough level, but there is still some room for improvement in my opinion. I believe the Frenchman could work on his technical ability and skill a little bit more, but he has the qualities to become a big player for a big club. Amongst everything, Gonalons has great leadership qualities, something that we have lacked for some time now. He is also very capable of winning aerial battles as he stands at 6’2’’ and we could do with some height in our midfielder. Someone of his height could really offer us something different in our attacking set-pieces as well.

In my view, I think we should sign him up.

He appears keen on a possible switch to England and has the ability to adapt and survive in the Premier League.

I like the look of Gonalons and Lyon play football similar to that of Arsenal’s, so he shouldn’t take too long to settle in.

I recall writing a piece suggesting Aaron Ramsey should just take up the defensive midfield role and save the club splashing out on a new player. But with reports suggesting Arsene Wenger will be given at least £70 million to spend in the summer I see it as a very good move to have Gonalons come in with Ramsey learning how to play in that role. After all, having two players who play the same position with different traits will add a lot of depth and competition to our squad. Some would argue that Mikel Arteta does the job well but he is not a traditional holding midfielder and his qualities are best utilized in the final third of the pitch. Francis Coquelin has shown promise in this position as well but to me, he looks like he needs a bit more time before he can challenge and claim the position.

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