Arsenal: Leon Goretzka the ‘everything’ to William Carvalho’s ‘something’

Arsenal’s midfield may be a bit lacking in depth, so attention has to be turned to the fix-all Leon Goretzka, not the lukewarm William Carvalho.

Arsenal’s midfield set-up is pretty easy to interpret. Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey is the go-to pairing. As it should be. They proved that last year and one poor preseason match isn’t going to change that. Their combination of sitting back and bombarding forward is perfect for the style that the Gunners have started to play in the 3-4-2-1.

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Behind them you have a ball winner in Francis Coquelin and a utility player in Mohamed Elneny. Pretty simple.

I can see where there is a bit of uneasiness here. Should something go wrong with Xhaka or Ramsey – be it an injury, bad form or a suspension – the back-ups aren’t exactly the prolific midfielders we have tried to bring into these deep-lying positions.

So yes, if we really want to get picky, we could use another deep-lying midfielder. And there are two names being heavily linked, with one key discerning factor between those two names.

Let’s make something clear about what we need for the midfield. We don’t just need another able-bodied soldier. We already have that in Coquelin and Elneny. Both can play the role without much risk of something crazy happening.

What we need is someone who improves upon the stock that we have. Someone who can do more than just fill in. Someone who can compete for a starting role with a unique set of skills.

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For that reason, I see it as simple we needing more than just a ‘something’. And that is what William Carvalho is. He is simply a ‘something’. He isn’t going to change our fortunes. He isn’t going to impact a game all that much. Sure he fits the need of another options, but that doesn’t cut it.

What would cut it is a midfielder who has ‘everything’ rather than just the ‘something’ that Carvalho provides, and that is what we would get with Leon Goretzka.

The German midfielder is an all-around midfielder much like Ramsey but without the constant runs forward. He knows how to score. He knows how to assist. He also knows how to tackle, intercept and do just about everything.

Hence why he is the ‘everything’ option in this comparison. I’m not saying he is perfect, but he brings something that makes our midfield situation improve. He brings a skill set that can compete with the incumbents for a starting role.

Carvalho doesn’t. The ‘something’ that he brings will be useful in certain circumstances, but that’s it. No more.

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Arsenal are past the point of signing guys just to have someone there, like they did with Elneny. They need guys that will change things, and that’s what Goretzka does. So start up that process and win him over because if we can’t get him this summer, we sure as hell can next summer.