Ally McCoist says Arsenal securing the free transfer of Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City would be a ‘bigger statement’ than the Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko signings.
Two Manchester City players might not be enough for Mikel Arteta, so there are suggestions that he could add another to Arsenal’s squad this summer, with Ilkay Gundogan’s contract set to expire in June.
If the second-placed Premier League side managed to get him through their doors, then McCoist thinks Arsenal would be a getting a ‘brilliant’ player, who rises to the ‘big occasions’, as he told talkSPORT Breakfast (23/05/23 at 6:55 am).
Only last season, as Liverpool pushed Pep Guardiola’s side to the last day of the season, Gundogan netted a brace as Man City came from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and clinch the title.
And, once again, the Germany international has been at it again. This time, scoring a brace against Leeds and Everton in back-to-back games to help the club win three in a row.
When those crunch moments arrive, the 32-year-old steps up, with McCoist sharing what type of player Arsenal could be getting amid those rumours.
“Interesting this one,” said McCoist. “What a statement that would be. It would be a bigger statement than Jesus. It would be a bigger statement than Zinchenko, for me.
“Pluses, you are getting a brilliant player. The age factor doesn’t really come into it, nowadays, for 32-year-old boys. They have kept themselves meticulously fit and they are great pros. And he is certainly that.
“The only negative is that you don’t have a sell-on. But that’s balanced by the fact that you are going to get him on a free transfer.
“He is a big occasion player, that’s exactly what he is. Everybody will be after him.”
GUNDOGAN TO REPLACE XHAKA
Whether Arsenal manage to lure Gundogan towards their direction remains to be seen, but it seems highly likely that Granit Xhaka will leave.
If that’s the case, then Arteta will need to bring in a left-sided number eight that can contribute going forward.
Well, no-one does that better than Gundogan and what’s better is that he puts up those top, top performances when the heat-of-the-moment matches arrive.
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