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Arsenal’s Arturo Vidal Pursuit Picking up Steam thanks to Alexis?

By Josh Sippie

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Alexis Sanchez is a lot of things as a player. He’s quick, technically gifted, pacey, agile, clinical and the list goes on. But one thing that could possibly fly under the radar is how well he represents his club. Being who he is, the bubbly, excitable Alexis Sanchez, it is a byproduct that the club he plays for shines through him.

Such a useful byproduct may be taking its toll on Arturo Vidal, Alexis’s Chilean team mate. While Arsene Wenger had downplayed Arsenal’s pursuit of Vidal in the past, it is inevitable that Alexis would do all he can to lure some buddies over to the Emirates.

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Seeing as how the two are rocking it out in Chile for the Copa America, it goes without saying that they have at least discussed the possibility.

The Telegraph has passed the word on that the cost of Arturo Vidal could be down to 21.3 million pounds, a price that has dropped from previous exchanges between the two sides.

With Juventus already in possession (at least for now) of Paul Pogba and with the arrival of Sami Khedira, Arturo Vidal may feel that his playing time is going to be limited. At 28 years of age, this is not the time for limited playing opportunities and despite Juventus’ masterful season, he may seek greener pastures elsewhere, alongside his Chilean team mate.

However, with Juventus already having lost Carlos Tevez and with Paul Pogba linked to quite literally everywhere, they may scratch and claw to keep Arturo Vidal in Italy.

But as the situation usually goes, the question is whether or not Arsenal could make undoubted use of Arturo Vidal’s services.

Vidal has a very diverse skill set. While he plays as a deep-lying midfielder, he drives attack up from the back, has an excellent shot and provides another option on set pieces, as his physicality and aerial ability are excellent. He would provide an excellent alternative to Francis Coquelin, providing more offense with not much, if any, sacrifice in defense.

However, the problem is what such a signing would do to Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, both of whom covet that spot next to Francis Coquelin that Santi Cazorla currently possesses. Adding Arturo Vidal will make it five midfielders fighting for those two spots. While Arsenal is all about internal competition, that is a cluster of epic proportions and someone is getting the short end of the stick. Actually, two guys will be sharing the short end of the stick.

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There are a couple answers to this problem, however. The first is that Santi Cazorla could be moving on. We have weighed the positives and negatives of Cazorla staying and while we would all almost unanimously prefer him to say, certain factors indicate that he could be moving on. Arturo Vidal could be a replacement if this unfolds.

The second answer is that, staying along the lines of internal competition, Arturo Vidal would be competition solely for Francis Coquelin. Just about everyone on the team has some sort of competitor or anther vying for their position, but Coquelin does not. Arturo Vidal could be that competition that Wenger seeks.

The third and cop-out answer is that Arsenal have recognized the injury-proneness of their midfield crop and acknowledge that they need more options. The problem with that answer is that Arturo Vidal could be considered injury prone and you do not exactly sign world-class midfielders like Vidal just to cover injuries.

One of my favorite perks to this transfer rumor is the fact that Manchester United were not able to seal the deal with Vidal last summer. Something about nabbing him when they failed just sings sweet tunes in my ear.

There are pulling factors on either side of this transfer rumor tug of war. We will just have to keep up with the latest happenings.

Next: Is Arda Turan an Arsenal target?

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