There are two ways of interpreting Arsenal’s bid for Borussia Monchengladbach’s 23-year-old midfielder. Either Wenger is determined to spend big or this is going to be the only important signing of the season. Hopefully, it will be the first scenario as the Gunners really need reinforcements up front rather than down the middle of the pitch. Even with Flamini, Arteta and Rosicky’s departures, Wenger still has Coquelin, Wilshere, Ramsey, Elneny, Ozil and Cazorla. Despite all the injuries, the Frenchman should be able to line up a strong core to tackle next season. Sure, Xhaka is a player who seems to have a bright future in front of him but where would he fit in and what needs will he fulfill in terms of tactical necessities? According to the Daily Mail Wenger is prepared to meet the German side’s financial expectations to some extent given the fact that the current bid is around £35million which is just a couple of millions short of what Monchengladbach have in mind. Usually negotiations that start this way end up being finalized sooner or later. The problem with Xhaka is that he will be performing in the European Championship meaning that his move might be postponed until the end of June. The asking price might go up depending on the midfielder’s performance so it`s hard to tell when pen will be put on paper.

Let’s take a look at who is Granit Xhaka and why would his transfer benefit Arsenal:

1. He has a lot of experience when it comes to playing under pressure. Despite being so young, he has already won a domestic competition with Basel and added two Cups to his CV right about the time he was named Swiss young player of the year. He made his professional debut at 17 and is part of the same generation as Shaqiri. Honestly, his career choices seem wiser given the fact that Shaqiri skipped over a few steps towards greatness. Moving to Monchengladbach instead of signing with teams like Bayern or Inter was a smart choice. He is a team regular and has shown consistency and maturity in his 36 games played this season. It would be the right moment to leave, especially knowing that the Premier League is his dream destination.
2. He can cover for all of Arsenal’s current midfielders including Ozil. If something were to happen, he can play both a defensive and an attacking role. He has a lot of abilities you would see in Wilshere meaning he can pass, shoot and coordinate the game very well. He also has great vision.
3. Despite two pretty nasty injuries, he looks very solid. Apparently he got past the knee and ankle injuries that kept him away from the pitch for around a month. He recovers quickly and he can play for an entire season at pretty much the same intensity even if it’s the Premier League, Bundesliga or La Liga.
4. He is a Premier League fan and even stated that money is not that important as long as he gets to play in England. Hopefully his desire to leave will make this transfer move faster even if he is under contract with Monchengladbach until 2019.

Again, this is a transfer to hope for only if Wenger promises to spend at least the same amount of money on a striker. Giroud might have scored 16 goals this season but that is not enough especially when those goals come during games with little to no importance.