In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, journalist Paul Brown mentioned that Arsenal are unlikely to move in for Southampton ace Romeo Lavia this summer. Brown said,
“They’ve definitely looked at Lavia. They made an approach some weeks ago. Obviously, since Rice came in, that’s a big fill in midfield. I don’t honestly believe that Arsenal will spend big on another midfielder like that.
“I think the fact that they are chasing Bitello, in Brazil, quite hard kind of speaks to where the money might be going.
“I think Lavia might be out of reach just because his club are asking quite a lot of money for him and I’m not sure Arsenal see value there. It would surprise me if they were to chase that one hard from now on.”
Lavia’s Decent Form At St. Mary’s Stadium Last Season
The 19-year-old proved himself to be a reliable performer at the heart of Southampton’s midfield in the previous campaign but failed to keep the Saints in the Premier League. Lavia found the back of the net once and earned one assist in 35 matches for his current employers last season in all competitions.
The Brussels-born sensation anchored the midfield well by averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 0.8 clearances and 1.0 dribbles per 90 minutes in the Premier League. He was even careful when distributing the ball from midfield as he completed 86.4% of his attempted passes in the top tier of English football (stats via whoscored).
Arsenal Are Unlikely To Move In For Lavia: Is Mikel Arteta Making The Right Call?
Lavia is a tough-tacking footballer who can time his challenges well to secure possession back for his team in the middle of the park. He usually puts his foot through the ball to clear the danger when needed and can make a few energetic runs with the ball in the opponent’s half.
The Belgian midfield ace is a tidy passer of the ball as well and already knows the Premier League well by now. Hence, he would have been a decent signing for the Gunners ahead of the new campaign.
However, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has got enough depth in his midfield following the arrival of Declan Rice from West Ham United recently. Therefore, there is no immediate need for the North London club to move in for Lavia in this off-season. All in all, it seems like the Gunners are making the right call by saving their transfer funds and not signing the Southampton star this summer.
