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Which Chilean is Most Likely to Join Alexis at Arsenal?
By Josh Sippie
With Chile busting heads in the Copa America and Alexis Sanchez the happiest member of Arsenal, it only made sense that the Chilean mastermind would have a few words with his team mates about exactly how green the pastures were at the Emirates (the grounds crew is fantastic).
Three names emerged out of the mix as potential transfer candidates for Arsenal: Eduardo Vargas (again), Arturo Vidal, and Charles Aranguiz, who has been linked before.
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Each of the three plays a position that Arsenal are supposedly in the market for. Eduardo Vargas can slot in as a striker or winger, Arturo Vidal can be a holding midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder and Charles Aranguiz is a versatile midfielder that would provide excellent depth.
In terms of prices, Vargas would fetch just at or a little over 10 million pounds, Vidal could range anywhere from 20-40 million pounds and Aranguiz would be the cheapest option at under 10 million.
Arturo Vidal appeared to be the closest to signing, as numerous sources indicated in July that the deal was already done for a fee of around 25 million pounds. However, Vidal’s agent rubbished those rumors and now the price has steadily risen to 32 million pounds, as reported by the Metro.
Vidal and Alexis are friends on and off the pitch, and it would make sense to unite the two, but the necessity of such a move and the price appear to be the major hang ups.
Eduardo Vargas has been linked with Arsenal in the past as well. He continued his international prowess with a sensational Copa America and despite failing to impress at a club level, remains high on a lot of radars for his tenacity on the Chilean national squad.
Vargas would only fetch around 10 million pounds and he would not be a first-team shoe-in. That being said, Vargas’s agent has addressed the rumors as well, but he was not as conclusive, saying (via the Express): “Arsenal? I do not have any information about that. I know just that every year during the same period, all the world asks about Vargas.” He went on to add: “It’s too early to say where he’ll play next season.”
Charles Aranguiz appeared to be another set deal, but his link has taken a turn for the worse as well, as it appears that Chelsea have overtaken us to land the Chilean. The Express indicates that Chelsea have moved to the front of the line.
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Aranguiz would be a superb depth signing that would not cost a ridiculous amount of money. He would not demand first-team action and he is young enough (26) to continue his growth with Arsenal.
Aside from possibly Marcelo Diaz, I can not imagine many Chilean footballers who would not want to link up with Alexis Sanchez. Arsene Wenger has expressed an interest in adding depth and Vargas and Aranguiz qualify as depth. Vidal qualifies as much-needed competition for Francis Coquelin as well so each Chilean would serve a purpose.
All things considered, Charles Aranguiz still appears the most likely to land a role on Arsenal. He is the cheapest and makes sense from a team perspective. Whereas Vidal would be forcing his way into the first-team and pushing other Arsenal men down the toteam pole and Eduardo Vargas plays a position of questionable need on the Gunners, Aranguiz would be an excellent depth signing to cover for potential injuries on a team with a history of them.
It also makes sense in that he is a lesser-known commodity. Arsene Wenger likes his surprise signings, kind of like Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny, guys that are not well known. Aranguiz fits that bill as well.
Just two weeks into the transfer window, there is still plenty of time to make these deals happen.
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