Despite starting their Premier League campaign with arguably the best core of midfielders, Arsenal are now struggling for quality options in that position, as the team head towards yet another trophy-less season. The Gunners now have only Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny as natural options in the midfield, and the manager was forced to play Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain there owing to their suspension and injury concerns.
Arsenal had to loan out their home-grown product Jack Wilshere last summer due to a plethora of options, which was soon followed by a season-ending injury to Santi Cazorla, frequent suspensions (red cards mostly) to Xhaka that has mostly kept him away from the pitch and repeated injuries to star midfielder Aaron Ramsey, which never really allowed him to settle.
And it has all accumulated to a dip in their form as the Gunners saw a lobotomised midfield, away at Bayern Munich, dragging them out of the Champions League Round of 16 yet again. With Jack Wilshere’s future in doubt now and Cazorla’s return in similar darkness, reports have emerged that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is eyeing a move for Malaga midfielder Pablo Fornals.
The 21-year-old midfielder has been quite impressive in La Liga this season which has caught the eyes of everyone around the world. Coquelin and Xhaka’s inconsistency has brought them under tremendous criticism, which has developed into a concern at Arsenal and Spanish publication Marca claim Wenger is keen on Fornals and he could move for him this summer.
A Málaga CF Juvenil A product, the midfielder broke into the first team back in 2015 from the B side and has held his place since then. He has played 18 times in the league and has scored four times, registering one assist with Malaga in 13th place. He starred in the side’s 2-1 win over Las Palmas last week, where he got a goal.
Arsenal have already picked up centre-half Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia and forward Lucas Perez from Deportive La Coruna from La Liga last summer and plan to continue raiding the Spanish league this summer too. Fornals has a release clause of around £8m-10million (€10m-€12m), which is very much in the price range that the Gunners prefer.
A central midfielder by nature, Fornals can also play on the planks, which makes him very much a Wenger player. He has drawn attention for his matured defending at a young age and the ability to hold the ball under pressure. Although a largely unproven prospect, he looks to have all the attributes to become a great player.
