Arsenal Will Ignore Marcelo Brozovic Cut Price

Arsenal have been linked to Marcelo Brozovic for quite some time but after Inter Milan snapped him up out of Croatia, a move has never appeared likely. Nothing has changed but the price.

Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic had everything that every Arsenal signing tended to have – a year ago. He was technically gifted, a great passer, young, outside of the major transfer spectrum and to cap it all off, he was undersized. Since that time, he has been snapped up by Inter Milan.

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However, with the transfer window winding down to a close, the rumors have again kicked up that Marcelo Brozovic is destined to be a Gunner. And this time, his price is a mere fraction of what it used to be. The Metro is reporting that for just £15.2m, Arsenal can land the center mid. That is a considerable step down form the £25m+ he was valued at not so long ago.

Of course, any time the words ‘cut price’ emerge, Arsenal have to be linked.

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This time, the ship has sailed. Marcelo Brozovic has no purpose at Arsenal and no longer fits a typical Arsenal signing. While he is still young and as talented as before, he is no longer cheap and he is still undersized. Not only that, but he plays a well-represented position at Arsenal. His versatility is rather lacking as well.

Wenger made it perfectly clear when he signed Mohamed Elneny that no purchase he made was going to be either a direct replacement or a direct understudy. Essentially, he would not sign a pure DM or a pure striker. He was going to stick with his one striker and one DM and have a stable of guys who could rotate into the positions as needed.

Marcelo Brozovic does not have the versatility to fit into that mold. He is a central midfielder through and through. He does not have defensive qualities, as he is far too small. He may be averaging near two tackles and just over an interception per game, but those numbers would be sliced in a physical league like the Premier League. He has made just one appearance outside of the central midfield and that was at right midfield, a position that Arsenal is even more stocked at. 

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Mohamed Elneny was Arsenal’s guy. He eliminated the possibility of Brozovic or any other central midfielder coming to Arsenal this window. His versatility allows him to rotate around the core three positions better than Brozovic could have.

The only use that there could possibly be in making Brozovic a Gunner is in making him an Ozil understudy, but the perks there are so limited that not even Louis van Gaal would splash the cash on him. First of all, as mentioned, Wenger does not want understudies. Second of all, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Gedion Zelalem are both rising up the ranks for that role. So too is Jon Toral.

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A cut price does not mean a done deal. Arsenal will not be landing Marcelo Brozovic any time soon.