Arsene Wenger’s January is getting tougher and tougher. The manager is desperate to get star players at his club to extend their stay in London but is also buy, trying to ad quality to his first team. This has seen him linked with a number of star players recently and one player now out of their reach is Juventus star Medhi Benatia.
The 30-year old is one of the most experienced defenders in Serie A at the moment and has been in solid form for the Italian giants this season. Arsenal are desperate for his services and made a bid of £35m for his services in January. However, reports from Calciomercato, an Italian news agency, claim that Juventus have rejected the bid straight away and are not ready to let him go any time soon.
A product of the academy at Marseille, Benatia is a Moroccan international with 53 international caps to his name in his career. A center back by trait, he is a gifted player with decent technique and passing abilities, that allow his side to initiate attacks from the back. He may not be the strongest in the air but his positional sense and understanding of the game allow him to make interceptions and tackles in dangerous areas.
He may be a bit too aggressive at times but is easily one of the best CBs in the game at the moment. However, he has fallen down the pecking order at Turin, making just eight league starts this season, and Wenger wanted to lure him out of Italy, with promise of regular game time.
He has started four UCL games for Juventus and has a total of 136 Serie A appearances and 23 UCL appearances, making him an established star.
Wenger is desperate to replace Per Mertesacker, the ageing German CB at the club. He is expected to quit the Emirates come the end of the season and Wenger wants an experienced name to take his place in the first team.
The likes of Daniele Rugani from Juventus, Virgil van Dijk from Southampton and Jonny Evans from West Bromwich Albion are all on the wish list for the manager at Arsenal. Rugani is relatively young while Van Dijk will cost double of Benatia. Evans and his experience in the domestic league in England, are probably a decent option for Arsenal but in all fairness, Benatia and his quality is a better option than most of those names.
He may also be better than second choice CB Shkodran Mustafi, who is unable to find any consistency this season. A center-back partnership of Laurent Koscielny, Wegner’s first choice and Benatia will be one of the best in England, albeit an ageing one but do you think missing out on the Moroccan will be a blow for Arsenal?
