Ruben Dias has raved about his Manchester City teammate and reported Arsenal target Riyad Mahrez in The Times.
City defender Dias, who joined the club only last summer, has said that Mahrez is “a very, very talented player”.
The Daily Mail has reported that Mahrez is among the players newly-crowned Premier League champions City are willing to sell.
The report has claimed that Arsenal are interested in signing the 30-year-old Algeria international winger.
Dias told The Times: “And Riyad [Mahrez] is a very, very talented player, like many others we have.”
Riyad Mahrez to Arsenal?
Mahrez is one of the best wingers in the Premier League.
The Algeria international won the Premier League title with Leicester in 2016, and won it twice with City in 2019 and 2021.
The 30-year-old is quick, has skills, scores goals, and creates chances, and there is no doubt that his dynamism and experience would make Arsenal a better and more potent team in attack.
However, there are three massive obstacles in Arsenal’s reported quest to sign Mahrez.
City paid Leicester £60 million in transfer fees for Mahrez in 2018, as reported by BBC Sport.
True, the winger is 30 now, but it is hard to see the Citizens take a huge loss on the winger.
Mahrez is on £120,000-a-week salary at City, according to Spotrac.
Would Arsenal be willing to match that salary and hand a 30-year-old a two or three-year deal?
And now the biggest problem…
Arsenal will not play in Europe next season and are not going to challenge for the Premier League title.
Would Mahrez be willing to leave a club that just played in the Champions League final to join a team who will be fighting only for the top four?
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