Arsenal: Marouane Fellaini can be Arsene Wenger’s great light bulb

Arsenal are tied to the most unlikely of players – Marouane Fellaini. But might there be such a rich vein of brilliance here that we can’t even comprehend yet?

Sometimes, when I look at Mesut Ozil or Granit Xhaka and remark how divided they leave the Arsenal fan base, I like to remind myself that other clubs have players like that too, and Marouane Fellaini is that guy for Manchester United.

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Loved or hated, with little in between, the poofy-haired Belgian has had himself a renaissance of sorts at United this year, finding his way to three goals and a season that ranks him as one of United’s top performers.

And yet, despite these performances, Fellaini has recently turned down another contract from United, and is still set to run out his deal at the end of the year, just like Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

That’s where Arsenal comes into it. Because no player can go anywhere until they are linked to Arsenal. It’s just not allowed.

When I first saw the rumor that Fellaini was tied to the Gunners, I laughed. Then I laughed again and laughed some more. But when I had finally stopped laughing, I realized that maybe this isn’t as stupid as I first thought. Maybe it’s brilliant.

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Arsenal need to bolster their midfield with a presence. They need a third midfielder who can allow Granit Xhaka some freedom while protecting the back line. Hello, Fallaini. He does that. He has done that his entire career. And while his ball-winning numbers have dropped a bit in recent years, he is still that defensive presence who can do exactly what we need.

Not just that, but speaking of presence, have you noticed how tall he is? Arsenal are notorious for struggling with set-pieces, especially with the diminishing role of Olivier Giroud, so if you add Fellaini, you get the added benefit of having someone who scores a lot of goals with his head.

And have I mentioned that he is free? So there are no strings attached, I don’t see the need to give him any assurances of starting every single game, he can just be a solid, reliable option among the options that we already have. He can also be a sub when we need a goal and set pieces are the way to do that.

I can’t believe I’m actually advocating for this, but let’s do it. If nothing else, it adds another name to the internal competition of the position and everyone benefits. Plus, I’d love to see peak Fellaini return and make United fans batty. That’s always a nice added benefit.

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After all, the light bulb was scorned when it was first invented too. So scorn all you want at Fellaini, he could be the big light bulb.