Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal need a new midfielder to boost their Premier League ambitions – Espanyol’s La Liga ace Marc Roca could be the man.
Espanyol want £35 million for Marc Roca but Arsenal will attempt to land the Spain U21 star on the cheap if the La Liga outfit are relegated this season, according to La Razon.
Despite the best efforts of an impressive, deep-lying playmaker with a wand of a left foot, Los Periquitos will find themselves bottom of the Spanish top flight and hurtling towards the second tier if or when the 2019/20 season can be resumed.
Not only are Espanyol sitting 20th in a 20-team league, they are also six points adrift of safety. And Arsenal, who will have to box clever in the transfer market after the global health crisis, are smelling blood.
La Razon reports that Roca is currently valued at £35 million. But The Gunners are hopeful that his price-tag will drop substantially unless Espanyol can pull off an act of escapology with would make even Harry Houdini blush.
The 23-year-old academy graduate was the unsung hero in Spain’s U21 European Championship triumph last summer, the glue that held a star-studded midfield containing Saul Niguez and Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos together.
His fine passing range and ball-winning abilities (no one in Mikel Arteta’s squad can match his 2.5 tackles per game) would certainly give Arsenal’s vulnerable midfield some much needed bite and balance, with Roca looking every inch the kind of Gilberto Silva-esque talent they have needed for a decade now.
Funds are tight at the Emirates these days so you can imagine that Arsenal will be waching closely as Espanyol teeter ominously above the drop zone. If they do succumb to relegation, the Catalan outfit may be forced to shave a penny or two off Roca’s price-tag.
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