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Arsenal Prepared to Grab Oddball out of Juventus Midfield?
By Josh Sippie
As is usually the case with Arsenal transfer rumors, they have a tendency to move and mold themselves into whatever nook and cranny they can find. With Arsenal missing out on Sami Khedira to Juventus, it therefore only makes sense that Arsenal and half of the known world will be ready to scoop up whoever that pushes out of the Juventus equation, whether it be Arturo Vidal or Claudio Marchisio.
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Arsene Wenger already downplayed the pursuit of Arturo Vidal by telling reporters: “We have good midfielders, and at the moment we are not looking at Arturo Vidal,” (via ESPNFC).
While that by no means rules out a move, spending half of our transfer budget on a holding midfielder seems a bit far-fetched, albeit useful.
With the downplaying of Arturo Vidal, it must mean that it had to be someone else at Juventus that Arsenal was interested in. The mantle fell to Claudio Marchisio. Marchioso’s father and agent said “I don’t think [Juventus will] let a player like him go… but if we don’t find an agreement, we’re going to look elsewhere. I have received many calls from the best clubs in the Premier League and the Bundesliga,” (via the Daily Star).
Marchisio, 29, provides excellent versatility as he can suit up in an attacking, defensive, or winger role. That versatility is what most likely appeals to Arsene Wenger. He is more than adequate at any role that he is deployed at. Based on WhoScored.com’s player ratings by position, Marchisio rocked out an 8.02 as a defensive midfielder in 3 appearances but maintains a steady 7.38 in 30 appearances as a standard midfielder.
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Marchisio has also scored 35 times in his career at Juventus, so the threat on goal is there as well. Transfermarkt has Claudio Marchisio listed at a price around 23-24 million pounds. However, he has been at Juventus his entire life and it is hard to imagine him being let go now that they are starting to get back into the success they had become so accustomed to.
With Paul Pogba also rumored to be making the grand exit to a grander club, it may end up that Sami Khedira is the only midfielder that Juventus have for next season. Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio are linked to plenty of other clubs across the board and while it is possible for at least one of the three to make their departure, the fact that Andrea Pirlo is not getting any younger may be all the proof you need that no one is going to make the Juventus exit this summer. Four midfielders is a good solid number to maintain and they currently have it.
That does mean that at least one of the four will not be happy with playing time, however. We will just have to see how it plays out.
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