This season, Arsenal’s starting lineup has shown that it can compete with anyone, and there was reason to think Mikel Arteta would have guided them to the Premier League championship if they had all stayed healthy.
However, things did not go according to plan, as is always the case with these taxing campaigns.
It becomes somewhat possible to account for the loss of one or two key players, but it is frustrating to watch when there are such subpar alternatives. For instance, Rob Holding, who has never really been at the required level to play regularly for the Gunners, was the next-best option after William Saliba’s absence.
Some roles are stronger than others, but given the reports that Kieran Tierney may be leaving the Emirates, it’s possible that the Spanish manager and Edu will try to give Oleksandr Zinchenko some strong competition in the form of Ferland Mendy, who they are reportedly about to be offered the chance to sign.
Given their ruthless success in wresting Martin Odegaard away from Real Madrid, with the Norwegian being deemed surplus to requirements in Spain, perhaps they could gladly accept another Real Madrid outcast who can develop into a similarly crucial player as their current captain for just a £17.5m fee.
At Real Madrid, how has Ferland Mendy performed?
The talented 24-year-old has 15 goals and 8 assists in a league campaign in which they are projected to finish just behind Manchester City, underscoring his significance to this current team.
Everything positive about this team’s offence frequently stems from Odegaard, their midfield wizard, and they may have found a defensive backup in Mendy.
The 27-year-old has had a turbulent time in Madrid since relocating from Lyon, but he is now an established star who would improve most teams. Even though this season has not been his best, he was crucial to Carlo Ancelotti’s Champions League and La Liga-winning team just a year ago.
Starring in the latter, the left-back maintained a 7.00 average rating with a 92% pass completion rate, 0.9 key passes, and 1.1 tackles per game.
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Even Odegaard, who maintained a 7.23 average rating in his final full season before moving to north London on an initial loan, appears to be vulnerable to the chopping block at a team the size of Real Madrid. Despite this, Arsenal would unquestionably benefit from their loss.
Given his exceptional ball handling skills and the fact that author Raj Chohan refers to him as a “1v1 beast,” it appears that Edu is getting ready to exploit the Spanish giants’ reject pool once more after doing so successfully in the past.
