Arsenal fans believe that a crisis is always just around the corner. That is not at all how they are, in actuality.
Though the Gunners have experienced consecutive losses in the Premier League, they still have a great chance to win the championship this year.
While overtaking Manchester City and Liverpool will require a tremendous effort, it might be better to pursue rather than lead the way like they did this season.
Taking use of the newly opened transfer window would undoubtedly be beneficial. There have been rumours that strengthening the midfield is possible, but a striker is apparently a priority.
Arsenal’s midfield targets for 2024
It was clear last year that Arsenal intended to sign two extremely expensive midfield players. Moises Caicedo was pursued by Edu and Co. a year ago, but he ended up staying at Brighton and moving to Chelsea in the summer.
Although Declan Rice’s £105 million transfer to the Emirates Stadium was met with celebration, Jorginho’s arrival was met with minimal enthusiasm.
Declan-Rice-Arsenal-Luton
Although Kai Havertz also entered, his transfer hasn’t exactly been a huge success. This has led to connections with players like Martin Zubimendi at Real Sociedad and Joao Palhinha at Fulham.
The most intriguing allegation, meanwhile, comes from Spanish publications claiming Arsenal is considering the Barcelona player Pedri.
According to one rumour, the Gunners, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich have expressed interest in signing the midfielder for the upcoming campaign. The La Liga giants are worried about his future because of alleged injury issues.
Why Declan Rice would gain from Pedri
Pedri is without a doubt one of the best young players in the world. Muhammad Butt, a football writer, declared earlier this year that the Spaniard is “the best midfielder in the world.” Nearly three years prior, Sam Dean of The Telegraph waxed poetic, calling the now-21-year-old “a midfield sensation.”
The Barcelona star made his debut as a lively youngster and has already played 120 games for the Catalan team since joining from Las Palmas during his breakthrough season in 2020–2021. That’s amazing for a guy his age.
He has an amazing valuation of £87 million, according to CIES Football Observatory, but you can guarantee that Barca would demand much more if they ever decided to approve a trade. After all, Cesc Fabregas, a former player for the Gunners, supported this player, along with fellow young player Gavi, to emulate Xavi and Iniesta.
It’s conceivable that Pedri would be used in that left “eight” role if he did end up at Arsenal. Although he has only scored 17 goals for Barca, he wouldn’t be the obvious choice to replace Xhaka, but his grace, elegance, and technical skill would be the ideal counterbalance to Declan Rice’s more reckless style.
Although Rice plays with grace as well, he is much more likely than the young Spaniard to break through a player and make a lunging run forward. To comprehend their disparate attributes, all you have to do is evaluate how their individual games stack up.
The two midfielders complement each other like a great match. Pedri will have a greater influence on the game in the last third of the field than does Rice, who performs best in the defensive phases of play and records more tackles, interceptions, and clean pass completion rates.
The Spain international’s creativity is unquestionably superior to that of the former West Ham player since he makes more crucial passes and more plays that result in shots.
Although Pedri isn’t going to score a tonne of goals, his ability to penetrate defences might be exactly what Mikel Arteta’s team needs to overcome a low-blocking opposing defender.