Arsenal: One major problem with Wilfried Zaha transfer

Arsenal are supposedly eyeing up Crystal Palace winger Wilfied Zaha and while their head is in the right place, there is a major problem here.

Arsenal absolutely need to be exploring all possible options to solve their winger drought this summer. Aside from the goal-poaching Theo Walcott and the young and unpredictable Alex Iwobi, the Gunners don’t have any true wingers.

And while the 3-4-3 can and hopefully will be here to stay, every team needs a good assortment of wingers, and since Arsene Wenger is unlikely to give Joel Campbell another try, we have to look externally.

On the surface, therefore, being linked to Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha seems like a solid idea. This guy is a true winger who only plays out wide. That’s his thing and everyone knows it. He’s a firecracker, a creator and a do-it-yourself-er, three things that the Gunners just don’t have enough of from the wide angles.

At 24 years of age, he has a bright future ahead of him. So much so that paying £30m for him doesn’t seem that outrageous, given the current going rates in the transfer market. He has six goals and eight assists on the year across a healthy 32 appearances.

All seems well, right? Well, yes and no. Zaha absolutely has the talent to make a difference but my major grief with this link is his massive, glaring inconsistency. Zaha is a guy that can move the world one day and the next day be completely flattened by it.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

When something goes right early on, expect a solid if not stellar outing from the attacker. If something goes wrong early on, expect to be as frustrated at him as we regularly are at Theo Walcott.

By my estimation, that makes this signing highly questionable. For that price, you could conceivably land a guy like Lorenzo Insigne, who boasts a healthy, consistency performance record. For a bit more you could land Yannick Carrasco. There are options out there.

Zaha would be a nice impact player. The kind you throw on when you’re in need of something to change. But if you want to rely on him to be the catalyst for change (to steal a phrase from Ivan Gazidis), you will be left wanting.

Of course, you could always make the argument that given a consistent environment, like Arsenal may be able to provide, he may find consistency easier to find. But that is a massively expensive hypothetical.

Next: Arsenal's Potential Starting XI Under Max Allegri

It’s not the worst idea ever, depending on what capacity you want to use him in. But if you are going to spend that much money on one guy, especially a wide attacker, you should probably be getting assuredly more than what he can provide.

Home/Arsenal Transfer Rumours