Buffon claimed ‘incredible’ player is like Vidal, now Arsenal want to sign him

Follow us on Google Discover

Arsenal are keen to bolster their midfield options ahead of the new Premier League season, after already bringing the attack-minded Fabio Vieira to the club from Porto.

Many names have been thrown about as possibilities for Mikel Arteta to sign this summer, including Juventus’ hard-hitting midfielder, Adrien Rabiot.

The 27-year-old has one-year left on his contract in Turin and Arsenal are seemingly keen on bringing the midfielder to north London in a potential swap deal involving Hector Bellerin.

Back in 2019, Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon compared the Frenchman to Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio – and how he has a mixture of all three qualities, as quoted by Goal.

The iconic goalkeeper added that Rabiot is an ‘incredible’ player and someone who can hit double figures in terms of goals from the middle of the park.

“He is a fantastic mix, he has the physical strength of Pogba, who is like a wardrobe,” said Buffon. “He has the personality of Vidal and potentially the dynamism of Marchisio.

“He is incredible, extremely strong. He needs to improve his timing when approaching the opponent’s penalty area, but he can become a player with 10 goals per season.”

SHOULD ARSENAL TAKE A PUNT ON RABIOT?

One of the issues Arteta faced last season was the club’s lack of quality and depth when his first-choice midfield was either injured or suspended.

Someone like Rabiot doesn’t just enhance that quality, but he would also argue that he could become a first-team regular at the Emirates.

The only issue facing the player is that he hasn’t progressed as many thought he would and there’s a reason why his contract is getting run down at Juventus.

Whilst Buffon talks about Rabiot possibly hitting double figures in terms of goals, well, throughout last season, he failed to get on the scoresheet for his side.

There’s no doubt that he is a player that can cause problems without getting on the scoresheet, but perhaps moving to the more physically-demanding Premier League would suit his game.