Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have been tipped to bring Carlos Soler to the Premier League from La Liga giants Valencia – is the new Silva heading to the Emirates?
Gaizka Mendieta has labelled Carlo Soler a ‘great player’ amid speculation linking the Valencia midfielder with a summer move to Arsenal, while speaking to Tribal Football.
The so-called ‘new David Silva’ could be set to follow a former Los Che favourite to the Premier League in the next few months.
The Mirror reports that an Arsenal side who have struggled for cutting edge and creativity since Mikel Arteta has taken over have identified Soler, a dynamic, versatile play-maker with an eye for a defence-splitting pass, as the kind of talent required to ease the burden on the enigmatic Mesut Ozil.
Soler is one of a number of highly-rated academy graduates who have made themselves indispensable at Valencia, alongside jet-heeled winger Ferran Torres and Spain international left-back Jose Luis Gaya.
And Mendieta, the former Middlesbrough, Barcelona and Lazio midfielder who remains a legend at the Mestalla, believes Soler’s rise is a reflection of the excellent work Valencia do at youth level.
“Valencia has always produced great talents like Carlos Soler and Gaya and so many other players in the past and I’m sure it will continue to do so,” said the two-time Champions League runner-up.
“Let’s hope that the big talents remain in the club for as long as possible.”
Unfortunately for one of Spain’s biggest clubs, however, they have made a habit of selling their star players year on year.
With Arsenal interested, Soler could soon go the same way as Juan Mata, David Villa and a certain Manchester City hero the 23-year-old has been so frequently compared to.
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