Forget the talk of players leaving Arsenal for a moment, the club are still focusing on bringing in new players to the Emirates.
Arsenal have been searching for a holding midfield player all summer long, Yann M’Vila, Etienne Capoue, even Uzbek skipper Odil Ahmedov.
Their search has led them to an intriguing player, astute as a defensive midfielder, yet who offers so much more than that.
The player in question in Lewis Holtby, a German born player with an English father who raised him as an Everton fan.
Half-English and half-German, the 21-year-old has made the early choice to play his international football for Joachim Low’s side. A former German under-21 captain, he has two caps to his name already.
He currently plays for Schalke, but has just one more year left on his contract. Importantly he would be open to such a move.
He has talked of his desire to play in the Premier League, which he grew up admiring from afar, and the lure of playing in the Champions League with Arsenal would be tough for him to turn down.
So while Arsenal are at risk of losing Van Persie and Walcott due to having just one year left on their contracts, the ‘swings and roundabouts’ saying will have a air of truth if the Gunners snap up Holtby in the same circumstances, even if most would hardly consider it a fair trade.
What can Holtby add to the Gunners side? Well, he has not been dubbed the new Owen Hargreaves for his injury record, nor solely for the fact he is part English yet made his name playing for a top Bundesliga side.
He is adept in midfield, in a number of positions. He made 22 league starts last season, scoring 6 goals and providing 1 assist, and let us break that down.
13 of those starts came in the defensive midfield role, from which he found the capability to get forward from, scoring 4 of his goals and providing his sole assist.
A further five starts came in a more orthodox central midfield position, and one as a central attacking midfielder. Holtby made two starts on the left flank, from which he scored once, and one start wide right, which also saw him score a goal.
Clearly his versatility would work in his favour, and he would be more than useful for Arsene Wenger over the seasons ahead.
After talk of spending £20 million on Yann M’Vila, signing Holtby for a fraction of that price could be yet another shrewd piece of business by the Gunners. He is technically gifted, as you would expect from a German international, a good passer, and comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Considering his potential, he could himself one day be worth the £17 million Bayern Munich received for Owen Hargreaves when they sold him to Manchester United, and Arsenal should take the opportunity to sign him for a fee of between £5million and £8 million.
He can play for Arsenal in the defensive midfield role, but tackle a variety of others, and would at first at least, be a highly valuable squad player.
The clincher? His nickname is ‘Lucky Lewis’ – For all the near trophy misses Arsenal have had over recent years, a good luck charm would not go amiss.
He may not be the star name to get fans buzzing, but he can become one, and that is exactly Wenger’s style, and he might prove every bit as effective.
Watch Holtby in action…
Would you like to see Arsenal bring Holtby to the Premier League?
image: © achimh
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