The January transfer window slammed shut on Thursday evening with Arsenal making just one acquisition. Versatile midfielder Denis Suarez joined the Gunners from Barcelona in an initial loan deal worth £2 million. Arsenal do, however, also have the option to purchase the player in the summer from the Catalan club for a fee reportedly in the £18 million range. While it was a relatively quiet transfer period for the north London club, the Suarez deal is a perfect example of a low-risk, high-reward player purchase.
Suarez, now 25, is a creative midfielder than can play multiple positions on the pitch. Talent has never really been an issue when it comes to the former Barcelona, Sevilla, Villarreal and Manchester City player. He has always usually performed fairly well when given regular playing time. These opportunities, however, were dwindling at Barcelona.
The Spaniard thrived at Sevilla (under Unai Emery) and Villarreal when given 45+ total appearances per season. At Barcelona though, Suarez couldn’t quite become a habitual starter in the club’s XI. If he can replicate his play from 2014-16, or even improve, then the supposed £18 million permanent transfer fee will seem like a bargain in today’s market. If not, and Suarez cannot make a good impression at Arsenal, then he can return to Barcelona and the Gunners can make a different purchase in the summer.
Arsenal were widely reported to be after a winger during the transfer period as well. Despite contact with Inter Milan for Ivan Perišić and Dalian Yifang for Yannick Carrasco, both deals ultimately fell through. Signing one of these talented wingers would have certainly been a nice move for the Gunners, but it was not necessarily a necessity. Arsenal have plenty of firepower moving forward, scoring at least two goals in 17 of their last 23 Premier League matches (only shutout once during this stretch). The aforementioned Suarez can also be deployed as a winger as well.
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One position that the Gunners could have used more help at, however, was center back. Injuries to Rob Holding, Sokratis, and Laurent Koscielny have put the club in a shaky situation at the back. A deal for an additional central defender would have been smart; however, there were reasons behind the decision to not make a move.
Head coach Unai Emery reiterated earlier in the week that his club have plenty of center backs on the roster. “We have enough players, center backs, in the squad,” claimed the head coach. “Only we’re having a lot of injuries in this position. If we can bring another player and when all the players want to play, we can have a lot of trouble in the future.” This is technically true.
Arsenal have six center backs (including the on-loan Calum Chambers) under contract until at least 2020. This is more than any other ‘big six’ club in the Premier League. Signing another central defender could be problematic, both because of providing playing time and player wages. However, a short loan deal for a player in this position until the end of the current campaign could have possibly worked out.
Nevertheless, Arsenal will hope that both Sokratis and Koscielny will recover quickly from their short-term injuries and be fit for the remainder of the season. Konstantinos Mavropanos is also fully fit and available for selection as well.
The Gunners may not have spent much money during the January transfer period, but quite frankly, neither did the other big Premier League clubs. Suarez’s versatility gives Arsenal plenty of options in midfield, while the club will surely address the defensive issues when more money arrives in the summer.
from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2S36kuG
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