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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to The Sun, Arsenal boss Unai Emery will urge the club’s board to push the boat out on their summer budget in order to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.
What’s the word?
The report claims that despite the north London side’s limited transfer budget, Emery will push for a deal for the 26-year-old and that he would be expected to cost at least £55m.
It adds the Gunners are keen on bringing in another home-grown talent following Aaron Ramsey’s departure to Juventus and that Emery sees Zaha as “central” to his summer rebuild.
A cutting edge
Last season Arsenal were crying out for an out-and-out winger, capable of taking players on and feeding their two predatory strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Instead, the club’s most potent attacking weapon from out wide came from left wing-back Sead Kolasinac.
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It’s therefore been no surprise to see reports linking the Gunners with a move for a winger, with Bournemouth assist-king Ryan Fraser seemingly a prime target. A move for Zaha though, at whatever the price, could be a significant game-changer.
The Ivory Coast international scored ten times and added ten assists for Crystal Palace in the Premier League last year; in contrast, Arsenal’s current wide options Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi managed to score nine times between them.
Emery’s side looked toothless from out wide, seemingly having a single game-plan of trying to play Kolasinac in behind the opposition full-back. The Bosnian was a powerful presence but his inconsistencies were often infuriating and it just increased the creative and goal-scoring burden on the likes of Lacazette and Aubameyang.
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But Zaha could change all that. The 5 ft 11 attacker is amongst the best in the business when it comes to his directness on the ball and averaged 3.4 dribbles per game last season. The more tentative Iwobi and Mkhitaryan both averaged less than half that.
Having someone who can beat a man or two would open the game up for Arsenal’s dynamic duo up front and could even be a saving grace for Mesut Ozil’s career too. The German thrives when he has time and space on the ball but with movement so static out wide, the former Real Madrid man just looks all at sea and can get lost.
Zaha’s potential arrival however would bring some much-needed pace, movement and trickery. And it could potentially unleash Arsenal’s current attacking trio too.