Arsenal are in desperate need of a midfielder to enhance Mikel Arteta’s options next season. Despite the imminent £34m signing of Fabio Vieira from FC Porto, the Gunners still need to sign a more defensive-minded player.
Youri Tielemans seemed to be the ideal target to improve the middle of the park for Arsenal, but this is reportedly no longer the case. Mikel Arteta's side have 'cooled' their interest in Tielemans, according to Sky Sports. The report claims that it's become increasingly likely that the Belgium international now signs a one-year contract extension at the King Power Stadium, with his current deal set to expire in 12 months.
The key reason why Arsenal’s interest in the Belgian has cooled could be due to the Gunners’ pursuit of centre-back Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine has also shown that he has the quality to play in midfield.
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According to The Athletic, Arsenal's priority is Martinez due to the 24-year-old's ability to play at centre-back and left back. Martinez is reportedly keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, and Ajax are rumoured to have rejected a bid in the region of £25million.
Despite being a defender by trade, Martinez has shown the necessary qualities during his time at Ajax that he is also capable of featuring in the middle of the park. Martinez ranked second in the Eredivisie, only behind Daley Blind, in terms of most progressive passes per 90 minutes (14.34) and passes into the final third per 90 minutes (13.43).
The Argentina international has played 139 games at centre-back and 22 matches as a defensive midfielder. This highlights that he does have the experience of featuring the middle of the park, and that he could be a backup option for the Gunners.
With Granit Xhaka likely to stay the club after Roma signed Nemanja Matic, which meant that their interest in the Swiss became redundant, it also means that if Tielemans was to join the club then a starting spot in the team is not guaranteed.
Arteta utilised Thomas Partey and Xhaka in a pivot alongside Martin Odegaard throughout last season which saw Arsenal have a lot of success, and it would be unlikely for the Spaniard to bench one of the two deeper midfielders in Xhaka or Partey. This is due to the experience that they bring to the side, and Arsenal’s win percentage sees a major increase when they start together.
It could also be because of this that Arteta instead wants to sign a player who would be a useful back-up in midfield but also has the versatility to feature elsewhere. This could explain Arsenal’s insistence on buying Martinez, and their interest cooling on Tielemans, who would be expected to start in the centre of midfield and not a different position.
