Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are reportedly hoping to lure Marc Roca away from La Liga strugglers Espanyol and over to the Premier League.
How to define Marc Roca?
Well, the £35 million Arsenal target (Sport) is both a ‘defensive midfielder’ and a ‘deep-lying playmaker’. He combines the ball-winning abilities of a Gilberto Silva with the smooth, stylish distribution of a fully-focused and in-form Granit Xhaka.
Though, in fact, it probably makes more sense for Roca himself to explain. A man who has risen through the ranks at Espanyol, playing a starring role as Spain’s U21s triumphed at the European Championships last summer, has learned from the very best after all.
“I focus on (Sergio) Busquets because he plays in the same position than me. He does not miss any pass and it is a basic skill for a player in our position,” Roca told the Barcelona News Club before turning his attention to another World Cup-winning maestro.
“I’ve always liked Xabi Alonso. From a very young age, I wanted to be like him. He’s an amazing player, and I hope one day to get close to what he did because I think he’s one of the best midfielders in history,” Roca added to LaLiga Lowdown.
“He’s a very complete player, offensively and defensively. I have always set my sights on him.”
Even with Espanyol bottom of the table, six points adrift of safety, Roca is doing a passable impression of two legendary ‘number sixes’.
He averages 2.4 tackles per game in the Spanish top flight (a far higher tally than anyone in Arsenal’s current squad). Meanwhile, his passing accuracy during last summer’s U21 Euros stood at a lofty 91 per cent, with Roca’s intelligence, positional sense and technical ability giving Saul Niguez and Dani Ceballos the freedom to wreak havoc earlier up the pitch.
For years, Arsenal have been crying out for their own Busquetts, their own Alonso. At £35 million, they could finally fill a void that has been lying empty for far too long.
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