It's no secret that Arsenal are in the market for a new midfielder this summer, with Ilkay Gundogan reportedly a target for Mikel Arteta's side.
With Granit Xhaka looking set to leave Arsenal this summer, Arsenal will now be looking for a replacement as well as extra reinforcements ahead of the new season. The likes of Declan Rice, Mason Mount and Moises Caicedo are just a few of the names linked with the Gunners, but Manchester City's Gundogan could be available on a free transfer.
The German has won five Premier League titles since joining City in 2016, but with his contract expiring this summer, the 32-year-old has been rumoured with a move away from the Etihad. A report from The Athletic claims Arsenal hold 'concrete interest' in Gundogan, though they would have to fight off Barcelona for his signature whilst City are now ready to hand their captain a two-year deal, according to The Mirror.
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So, if he made the move, could Gundogan help Arsenal win the Premier League title? We simulated next season with the midfielder in the squad to try and find out.
Arsenal's 2023/24 season simulated with Ilkay Gundogan
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2023 to arrange for Gundogan to join Arsenal on July 1, 2023, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the 2023/24 season to see how the German international could perform.
With Xhaka no longer at the club, Gundogan quickly established himself as a regular in the Arsenal side, becoming a favourite of Arteta's. In his first season in north London, the German made 47 appearances across all competitions, with only four players managing more.
In his 47 games, 46 of them were starts, and the 32-year-old scored once whilst grabbing 10 assists as he played in a deeper, more creative role than at City. His best competition was the Champions League, with Gundogan scoring his only goal and assisting four in nine games.
Four assists came in the Premier League and two in the FA Cup, with the midfielder averaging a rating of 7.17 in all competitions. Compared to the rest of the Arsenal squad, Gundogan was the best midfielder based on average rating and the fourth-best player overall.
Martin Odegaard was the top scorer and assister out of the midfielders, scoring 12 and setting up 11 whilst averaging a rating of 7.04 per game. Jorginho was regularly used in Arteta's side as well, with Thomas Partey struggling with injury issues that saw the Ghanaian limited to just 14 starts all season.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Arsenal best XI: (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, N'Dicka, Zinchenko; Jorginho, Gundogan; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Jesus.
Gundogan made the Arsenal best XI in the simulation, starting alongside Jorginho in a double pivot in the midfield. Injuries saw Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel and William Saliba miss big parts of the season, with Leandro Trossard, Takehiro Tomiyasu and summer signing Evan N'Dicka all making the best XI.
Arsenal's results with Gundogan from the 2023/24 season
A poor start to the season saw Arsenal win just one of their first six games, with Arteta's job under threat in the first few weeks of the season. They managed to turn their fortunes around as the season went on, but it was too little too late as they missed out on the Premier League title again.
26 wins, five draws and seven losses saw the Gunners end the season on 83 points, one point less than what Arsenal could end the 2022/23 season on. The top two was almost identical to the current campaign as City won the league with 94 points whilst Liverpool claimed third and Newcastle fourth.
Arteta's side ended the season as the league's top scorers, but they conceded more goals than any side in the top six, with defensive injuries proving costly. There was no luck for the Gunners in the cups either, with the semi-finals the furthest they reached in any competition.
After a 1-0 win at the Emirates in the first leg, Arsenal fell to a 3-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the second as they were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals. a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool saw Arteta's side dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the quarters, whilst a 3-1 loss to Chelsea ended their FA Cup journey in the semi-finals.
Overall, the Football Manager simulation predicts that Gundogan could have a great individual season for Arsenal, but the German couldn't help the Gunners win any silverware. The 32-year-old could be a superb addition on a free transfer, but Arteta's side may need some extra investment to improve next season.
Do you think Gundogan would be a good addition to the Arsenal squad? Let us know in the comments below!
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