With the signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud now complete, What Culture looks at the five players Arsenal should target in order to catch up with Premier League Champions Manchester City.
1. Yann M’Vila
The most talked about prospective signing for the Gunners this summer is undoubtedly Rennes’ captain Yann M’Vila. One of the hottest properties in world football at the moment, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were all credited with an interest for the holding midfielder at some point during the summer so far. Arsenal are strongly believed to be interested in securing the services of M’Vila, and it looks to be a transfer saga that could drag on for a while.
M’Vila is the poster-boy for the future of French football; he has received praise from high places, with French World Cup winner Marcel Desailly declaring that he’d ‘sign him with his eyes closed’ if he were the Arsenal manager and even comparing him to Patrick Viera. M’Vila has been capped 22 times by the French national team, as well as appearing for all of France’s lower age groups starting with the U16s and even captaining the U19 team. He also captained Rennes to within a point of a Europa League spot last season, a notable achievement for a man who only celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday.
He is a no-nonsense, classic defensive midfielder- exactly what Arsenal need at the moment- with brilliant stamina, strength and tough tackling. He is a player eerily unfazed by big occasions, always comfortable on the ball and eager to provide an outlet for his defenders. What sets him apart from Alex Song is his preference for the simple pass; whereas Song would make a tackle, then proceed to beat 3 men and place a lobbed pass onto RVP’s left foot, M’Vila would make the tackle and then play a safe pass to the Artetas and Wilsheres of the team who do the fancy stuff for him. This means that unlike Song, M’Vila very rarely gets caught up-field by an opposing counter-attack and is always present to support his defenders.
Yann M’Vila’s overall attributes cause many (including me) to believe that he is the missing puzzle piece for Arsenal’s title push, providing stability and defensive solidity which no one in the current Arsenal squad can provide. He could be deployed in a central midfield trio alongside two of Song, Wilshere, Arteta, Rosicky or Ramsey and provide cover for these attack-minded players to roam forward. M’Vila’s undoubted talent and potential mean that he would not come cheap, but Arsenal fans will be hoping that Arsene Wenger follows Desailly’s advice and signs him regardless.
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17 Comments
robin isn’t a signing!
i really love your work guys,keep it up and hope your wishes are granted!!GUNNERZ 4 LYF…
Your last post re Selassie proved to be rubbish as there was no relaying information whatsoever re that singing, in fact the very next day it was announced he signed for Werder Bremen. Being an Arsenal fan doe not automatically mean that you have relevant information…just a personal wishlist!
Fair enough, I was just as annoyed by the story turning out not to be true as you were, we try to pick up any news we can but we can’t guarantee the source it comes from.
Really good article, very thorough with your explanation and finished with a great and very true last statement. i think arsenal could go very close this year if three things happen. 1. we keep RVP and hes on a similar level he was last year. 2. we buy 2 or three more players i.e M’villa and Vertongen. 3. we get off to a good start with 7 points from our first 3 games hopefully beating sunderland and stoke with a draw at anfield. enjoy the season. James – Block 16,lower tier, 2nd row, seat 508.
M`Vila is a must, regardless of his reputation in France. New environment, new beginnings. However I think you`ll see that Arsene will try to sell a few players in the next few weeks before they sign someone next, given the salary caps/squad numbers clubs must stand by. As far as the recent signings go in Podolski and Giroud…so far, so good ! Keep them coming Arsene…….
we need him,with song,wilshere in the attacking position and arteta in the middle, forget about denilson, ramsey, they still need to improve a lot. i was a footballer and i know what im talking about,i played against mobati of marseille in congo
Think your article on m’biwa was stolen by another site I read. Justarsenal.com
Great guner fans word wide. I wish if wenger if can sign yan,m villa for be a better boost for arsenal squard. We fans, we plead wenger should try and sign more value player. Well done for your good job, we fans, we are especting great from you before the ending of the saeson. Thanks. From nigeria.
We have a very exciting team next season! We have goals that can come from everywhere. Van Persie must see this. This season will be massive for Arsenal. Things are looking up!
Sorry but I really don’t agree with this! I think that the midfield is crowded enough as it is, with Song, Coquelin, Frimpong , Wilshere, Arteta, Ramsey, Rosicky and perhaps the Ox all vying for 3 central midfield positions.
Likewise in defence we have 2 right backs, 3 international standard centrebacks (plus Bartley and Miquel) and 2 great left backs, so I can’t see M’Biwa coming to sit on our bench, although saying that it would be nice to bring in a versatile defender.
Jack Butland is exactly the sort of back up keeper we don’t need! Szczesny could quite feasibly be our #1 for the next 10 years and with Martinez tipped for great things, I think we need a much older, vastly experienced ‘keeper (Julius Ceasar anyone?!). Bringing in Butland could “kill” both his and Martinez’s careers!
But a well-written, interesting to read article, thanks!
A great season in front of us. Perefct signing ahead will make us achieve our dreams.
A great season in front of us. Perfect signing ahead will make us achieve our dreams.
if wenger don’t buy yann villa let him forget about trophies. kudos to arsenal fans,gunner for life.
wenger we should real see what other great teams are doing, please sign yann m;mavila he will be a great mid filder for the gunners. please never give it time to think.
i believe if rvp does not want 2 stay wit d club , he shld be allowed 2 leave n a gud replacement brought 4 him. in d case of walcott, there ‘re so many better replacement 4 him even without bringing in anybody. players like ox n miyaichi. but i strongly advice more quality signings as backups. another area 2 be emphasized upon is d defence n defensice midfield. 4get about rvp n life goes on.
Wenger should get m’vila because when arsenal are winning,they need a standing defenceive midfielder to cover up a counter attack.