Arsenal Should Be Seeking Gary Medel Transfer

Arsenal are linked to plenty of defensive midfielders but one that has not been linked may be the best option of all. Gary Medel should be on Arsenal’s radar. He’d solve everything.

Talking about the copious amounts of guys that are tied to Arsenal gets nauseating and repetitive. Grzegorz Krychowiak does not like the weather. Granit Xhaka likes Borussia Monchengladbach. Lars Bender is the captain of Bayer Leverkusen. Victor Wanyama is not for sale. None of it seems feasible. Continuing to talk about it will lead to severe indigestion. I’m not all for that (although I will continue to talk about them).

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To switch things up, let’s talk about a guy who has not been linked with anyone since Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool. Gary Medel. The Chilean Pitbull, as he is affectionately known, is currently hanging out at the base of Inter Milan’s midfield. He has the versatility to play on the back four as well. Despite his smaller stature, he is know as the pitbull for a reason. Medel is ferocious when it comes to tackling and getting in the way of things. Some have even likened Krychowiak to Medel.

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So why Arsenal? Well, Arsenal needs a defensive midfielder. But they also must come to terms with the fact that once Coquelin returns, he will be taking that first team spot back. At least in theory. But some friendly competition would help everyone.

To make matters more plausible, Medel is having his worst defensive season ever, statistically. He is registering his lowest tackles per 90 in his career as well as his lowest interceptions per 90 since he saw Cardiff City demoted (via WhoScored.com). At just 28 years old, it is hard to attribute that to wear and tear. Instead, for arguments sake, let’s attribute it to needing a change.

Medel has never spent more than three years at a club. He’s a journeyman. He has already played in Spain, England and Italy and before all is said and done, he will probably move again. So why not Arsenal? There are several perks to this. First of all, he is 28, so he would not necessarily interfere with Arsenal’s long-term plans with Coquelin, Hayden, Bielik or whoever else may be stepping up in a few years.

Secondly, Medel’s market value is hovering at just £10 million. That is incredibly affordable for what Arsenal would be getting. A proven defensive midfielder who has already tasted Premier League football? Yes please. There would be very little acclimation. He has seen it all before, he knows what to expect. It would not be an Adrien Rabiot situation where he is seeing it all for the first time. There would be no layoff period.

Thirdly, the Chilean connection. I have this bizarre fascination with bringing countrymen together at Arsenal. I was heavily in favor of Charles Aranguiz, Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas coming to Arsenal. As such, it only makes sense that Gary Medel looks just as appealing. Connecting him with Alexis Sanchez is destined to succeed.

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Inter Milan notably beat Arsenal to the signature of Geoffrey Kondogbia and I can think of no better way to sooth that burn than poaching Gary Medel for ourselves. Of course, the big question is the same as always. Is he available? Medel has started more games for Internazionale than anyone else. That would lead us to believe that the Italian side still thinks rather highly of him. And yet, in the midst of his worst statistical season, could they be looking to cash in before his value drops more with age? It’s always a possibility.

As far as why his link to Liverpool never worked out, Medel valued his time at Milan more than a change to then-wildcard Liverpool. Although according to Calciomercato, he did appreciate the interest, for what it’s worth.

Gary Medel makes sense. He’s cheap. He’s Chilean. He’s a defensive midfielder with the versatility to play as a defender. Sounds like a bunch of things Arsenal needs.