Arsenal have had an extremely positive week, with the announcement yesterday that Alexandre Lacazette has joined from Lyon- widely reported to be a club-record fee surpassing the £42.5m the Gunners paid for Mesut Ozil in 2013.
Lacazette arrives to join fellow new recruit Sead Kolasinac in North London and is expected to join the team this weekend in their pre-season trip to Australia, whilst reports indicate that the Gunners are not yet finished with their summer spending.
Arsenal are continuously linked with the talents of Monaco ace Thomas Lemar and Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez, as the Gunners look to bolster their options out wide, but Arsene Wenger may need to divert his attention towards central midfield.
News breaking in the past few days suggests that Santi Cazorla could mis the entirety of next season due to an achilles problem, having already sat out since limping off in a 6-0 victory over Ludogorets in the Champions League back in October.
Arsenal struggled to perform without the Spaniard, until a chance in formation brought the best out of Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka, but the Gunners injury history means they must be wary of putting too many eggs in one basket.
The Gunners other options for central midfield include Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere and Mohamed Elneny, whilst Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could get the opportunity in the middle that he craves, but none of those players seem likely to be able to fill the void left by Cazorla’s departure.
With Ramsey and Xhaka established as the starters, Arsenal don’t necessarily need to go for broke in the market to land a big name and could pursue a younger option, which was always likely to be chased in the coming years as Cazorla is approaching the twilight years of his career.
Arsenal have been linked with the likes of OGC Nice ace Jean Michel Seri this summer and Malaga’s Pablo Fornals, both of whom could be decent options for the Gunners, and Wenger may step-up his pursuit now that a deal for Lacazette has been concluded.
It’s likely that Arsenal will suffer midfield injuries again this term and the uncertainty regarding Coquelin’s suitability and Wilshere’s fitness means the Gunners lack significant depth in central midfield, which increases the need for a new signing to be made.
It could be a while until a deal materialises though and it seems that Arsenal will conclude a deal for one of their attacking targets before diverting their attention to other areas of the side.