Arsenal: Corentin Tolisso will become another Arsene Wenger “almost”

Arsenal has sat by and watched another reasonably-priced transfer pass by as Corentin Tolisso lands at Bayern Munich. Be ready for the usual spiel.

I try not to get my hopes up for any Arsenal transfer rumors. It happened with Isco and I’ve been scarred ever since. There is just always that inherent risk with Arsene Wenger being tied to players that the move will never happen.

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That said, I couldn’t help but get excited about Corentin Tolisso. This guy is just electric, he truly enjoys his football, he is a complete midfielder, with effort out the wazoo, creation abilities, a proven goal scorer and all. There wasn’t a flaw in him. He would have played any midfield position for Arsenal, either in the deep two or the attacking two.

And now he is a Bayern Munich man, becoming the fifth player that the German giants have signed this year. He will join Serge Gnabry as another one that the Gunners let get away.

I get that Arsenal didn’t necessarily need another midfielder. Wenger seems willing to bank on Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil staying put up front and Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey have indeed struck up one hell of a partnership.

But that partnership is only buffered by rotational options like Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin; two very limited players that do not bring a lot to the table. What happens when Ramsey inevitably misses a few matches due to injury?

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Tolisso’s deal is said to have only cost the German’s £35m, the same price that AC Milan paid for another former Gunner target, Andre Silva. Those are two players that could have been fantastic additions to a club that just needs high quality options. And both guys have passed on by in the early phases of the summer, with nary a peep from Arsene Wenger.

These are the kinds of transfers that raise questions. Wenger gripes about the prices of players out there, yet here are two guys that are perfect for what we need at a cost that, while inflated, is rather low by market standards, and they are passed up on.

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Get ready to Tolisso to be another “almost” story by Arsene Wenger. We have heard it so many times before. When the French midfielder shows the world that Bayern landed a bargain, Wenger will be right there, saying how close he was to landing him himself.