Riyad Mahrez To Arsenal Transfer Rumors Tough To Diagnose

Arsenal have been scouting Leicester City talisman Riyad Mahrez for quite some time, but it is still tough to say whether a move like this could happen or not.

With any given transfer rumor out there, you can feel if it is leaning towards possible or impossible. It’s a fraction. Karim Benzema to Arsenal? Probably about an 80/20 towards not happening. Mohamed Elneny? Feeling like a 95/5 towards happening. Edinson Cavani? 90/10 not happening. There are some that waver in the middle: the Krychowiak’s, the Xhaka’s and the Wanyama’s. However, those still lean one way or the other.

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The only Arsenal transfer rumor that is stuck firmly at 50/50 is Riyad Mahrez. The Leicester City ace has been the greatest discovery of the Premier League this year. He was bought by the Foxes for a mere £500,000, a whole 2% of what Manchester United spent on Memphis Depay. Yet the Algerian has run off and scored 14 goals and added seven assists in domestic competitions.

In the process, Leicester City have launched themselves to a points tie at the top of the table. Few would have seen that coming. So now the big question is whether Claudio Ranieri’s army will stay together for the duration of the season.

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Let’s start by thinking about that question in the affirmative. This team has emerged from nothing. A bunch of cheap, from-nowhere players that have come together to be one of the most impressive teams in the league. Between Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and a suddenly emerging defense, the Foxes look like legitimate contenders. It’s hard to keep saying they are going to tank eventually.

With an experienced manager like Ranieri and all the self-belief in the world, this team could very well stick together. Rising from the dust together to emerge as a title contender has a way of uniting a team. The Foxes are definitely a united bunch. By that token, it may come down to a matter of loyalty over money. No one would complain at that.

However, let us now consider the other possibility, that they break the team up. Football is still a business. Few would have imagined that the Foxes would be this high. They have nearly mathematically guaranteed that they stay in the Premier League this year, which was the goal to start the year. They are playing out of their skins. That could be seen by the brain trust at Leicester as a temporary situation. They may see this as the peak time to sell high. They can turn one £500,000 signing into a £25m pay day. Then they can turn that money around and invest in more players to build this team around.

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There is still a school of thought out there that Leicester will falter. Against Manchester City, they held strong and showed a willingness to defend, but they were unable to score. It is shaping up like Leicester has two modes, either gangbusters on the offense or parking on the defense.

Then there is the issue of age to deal with. Two of the Foxes’ youngest players, Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, are 24 years old. Jeffrey Schlupp is 22. Marc Albrighton is 26. Other than that, this is not really a young squad. Vardy has a few more years at 28 years old. Defensive sentinel Robert Huth is getting up there at 31. Everyone else is in that phase of their late 20s, early 30s where a changing of the guard may be needed. It is not an old squad, but certainly not a young squad.

Again, age puts us in that 50/50 range. Selling Mahrez to Arsenal, or even Vardy to Arsenal, would given them a big check to spread more young talent across the club. It is going to have to happen at some point.

Now that we have covered Leicester, let’s debate if Wenger would even be in the market to bring Mahrez to Arsenal. The Metro reports that Arsenal have been scouting the Algerian along with every other top club in the league. Arsenal does have a bit of a need for an attacker, and given Mahrez’s versatility, he would fit the billing. With just Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott as experienced wide midfielders, Mahrez would find plenty of time and the competition he would provide would be second to none. He is a fantastic talent.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joel Campbell are still struggling to find their feet, so Mahrez would be a welcome addition to play alongside Alexis, Walcott, in a rotational role or as a super sub. He plays either wide position as well as a No. 10 and he has excelled at each role.

All we can do with this rumor is wait and see. If Leicester hang onto him, more power to them. But if he is made available, then Arsenal cannot let him slip to a rival.