According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal are interested in making a summer swoop for Liverpool ace Adam Lallana.
What’s the word?
With the Gunners still well short of the top four at the moment – they are currently ten points behind Chelsea in that final Champions League qualification spot – the club’s summer transfer plans may have to shift accordingly.
Whilst the north London side pulled off a mammoth £72m deal for Nicolas Pepe last season, they may have to be much shrewder in their work this time around. And according to The Daily Mail, they are monitoring Lallana’s situation at Anfield, with the 31-year-old set to be out of contract come the end of the campaign.
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The report claims the former Southampton man is likely to leave Anfield, and that he has expressed a determination to play more first-team football.
Shrewd business
At 31, on a free transfer, and with a shocking injury history to boot too, Arsenal are not exactly targeting a high-profile player in their prime in Lallana.
But what the Englishman has proven when he has been able to step on to the field, is that he can still be a very valuable member of a team. It was his decisive strike that helped Liverpool equalise against Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this season – that game of course being the only fixture the Reds have dropped points in the Premier League.
Judging him by his stats this season would not be fair, having only made three starts in the league. But his overall career shows how he can be a dangerous offensive player from the midfield areas. He has averaged more than one shot, key pass and dribble over his professional career, and could be that ball-carrying player Mikel Arteta could do with.
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The likes of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira appear to be more suited to either passing, or simply screening the defence. The former averages a pass accuracy of 87.7%, whilst the latter manages 1.3 interceptions per game in the top-flight. Crucially however, the duo only average 0.8 and 0.6 dribbles per game over their careers – something Lallana is far better at doing with his one dribble per match.
Bringing the Liverpool man in could give Arteta someone who is proficient at taking the ball up the pitch and beating players with a penetrating run in midfield. That in turn would allow the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to wreak havoc as opposition defenders come out of their set positions to try and stop him.
So whilst it may be on a free transfer, it’s a signing that could have potentially high rewards.
Meanwhile, Arsenal fans are fuming with a potential swoop for this Premier League ace.