In a recent segment on Kick, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano stated that Arsenal are showing interest in Fulham ace Joao Palhinha. Romano said,
“What I can confirm about Palhinha, this was around the media in the recent days, is that there are also English clubs interested in Palhinha. One of those clubs is Arsenal.
“It is true that Arsenal appreciate the player. There are some people at the club who consider Palhinha a very good player. It’s one of the players they discussed internally.
“(But) There are two issues – the first one is the age, he’s not a super young player. I think next year he will be 29. Also, the price. Arsenal cannot spend that amount of money, something like £70-80 million on one more midfielder after spending the big amount of money they invested on Declan Rice.”
Palhinha’s Impressive Form At Craven Cottage
Palhinha is enjoying a solid campaign at Fulham after he put in a series of impressive displays at the centre of their midfield. The 28-year-old has found the back of the net twice in 13 matches for the Cottagers this season on all fronts.
The Portuguese talent has given a good account of himself by averaging 5.2 tackles, 1.9 interceptions, 1.8 clearances and 1.3 shots per game in the Premier League. He has even been tidy when distributing possession from midfield as he has completed 83.5% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via whoscored).
What Will Palhinha Bring To Arsenal?
Palhinha is a tough-tackling midfielder who can time his challenges well to secure the ball back for his team inside his half. He doesn’t hesitate to clear his lines when needed and can shoot the ball with venom and accuracy from long range. However, the Portuguese talent needs to find a way to improve his productivity in the final third.
We can expect Palhinha to bring more quality to Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta’s midfield department. He is good enough to form a dominant midfield partnership with Declan Rice at the North London club in the coming years.
At 28, Palhinha is currently playing in his prime and has what it takes to make an immediate impact at the Emirates Stadium if Arteta can devise a way to bring him on board this winter or at the end of this campaign.
