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Arsenal Should Make Axel Witsel’s Boyhood Dream Come True
By Josh Sippie
Axel Witsel is not a name that has come up on Arsenal’s transfer radar. At least not in the past four years. The Belgium defensive midfielder’s father commented on transfer rumors in 2011, saying that it was his son’s dream to play for Arsenal (via the Metro).
Back then, Axel Witsel was just a promising 22 year old. His development has not taken off as much as some would hope, but at 26 years old, he still has a lot to give and a lot of time to do so.
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Witsel’s father announced in April that Axel would be leaving Zenit this summer and interest ramped up immediately, although interest from Arsenal has been either unreported or nonexistent. Either way, he is on the move, and currently only Juventus and AC Milan are reporting offers.
Axel Witsel is part of the golden age of Belgian football, an age that Arsenal have not taken part in yet. This would be the perfect candidate to get into the gold with. Axel Witsel is a defensive midfielder (with an attacking background) with superb aerial ability, two values that I have been preaching for Arsenal to go after all summer. At 26 years old, he is mature enough to provide solid cover and even compete for a spot in the deeper midfield region, but he is also young enough to still offer a lot of value for the future.
Transfermarkt has Witsel valued at around 25 million pounds. That is much less than both William Carvalho and Arturo Vidal. He does not have the injury proneness of Vidal and he does not have the unpredictability of Carvalho. Witsel has made over 50 caps at the international level, so he is plenty seasoned.
Another benefit of Axel Witsel is his versatility. The Belgian is a natural attacking mid but can also wing it out or play defensively. At 6’1″ he has the frame and strength to be an imposing figure in the middle of the pitch. Either way, whether he play in a forward role or in a deeper lying role, he will contribute to the other half as well, as the Belgian has a very good work rate.
This year for Zenit, he made 26 appearances as a central defensive midfielder. He also played central mid, left mid, right wing and attacking mid and according to WhoScored.com‘s player ratings, he does not suffer by being used in other positions.
Along with scoring six goals for Zenit, he also won an average of two and a half aerial duels per game and augmented that with a superb 90% passer rating. That percentage would be tops at Arsenal.
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The fact that Axel Witsel is a childhood Arsenal supporter is just icing on the cake. You know his heart will be with the club and he will give his all.
It is a hotly debated issue whether Arsenal should be spending large amounts of money on non-necessities, and if we want to get down to it, Witsel could be described as a non-necessity, but sometimes when a player is available, you take him.
However, Arsenal do need cover for Francis Coquelin, and that cover is most certainly not going to be provided by Mathieu Flamini or Mikel Arteta. Axel Witsel may not be as strong defensively as Coquelin, but he is superior in other areas of the game and would provide an excellent option.
Coquelin’s spot is the only position on the team that has very little competition and that can be amended with Axel Witsel joining the team.
Plus, they have the perfect nickname: ‘Axel and le Coq.’
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