Arsenal: Leon Goretzka reality check puts things in perspective

Arsenal have been strongly tied to Leon Goretzka for some time, as he is a catch-all solution, so the recent transfer “news” scare is actually terrifying.

Arsenal’s midfield needs help. In Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka, they have two pieces to build around, but the former is injury prone and the latter needs to be re-purposed or reinforced. Aside from them, we have even more injury prone Jack Wilshere and a handful of squad players.

The midfield is arguably the most important position on the pitch. You control the heart of the game, you control the flow, the tempo, and you get significant boosts to the attack and the defense. So the fact that the Gunner’s midfield has been in limbo for quite some time should pair conveniently with the fact that they can’t seem to find any consistency.

Leon Goretzka was seen as a solution. Similar to Ramsey, except bigger, stronger and younger, Goretzka is an everything midfielder with the upside to become one of the best in the world and he is available for free.

A recent, unfounded report claimed that Goretzka had made his decision to move to Bayern Munich, but that report was quickly refuted by Schalke Sporting Director (what is that?) Christian Heidel.

Which is good news. But it was still a scary reality check that made us think about what would happen if Arsenal couldn’t land a world-class Leon Goretzka for free.

If he does decide to go to one of his other numerous suitors, the Gunners would be left with the necessity of purchasing – spending actual money – on a position that Wenger undoubtedly doesn’t think he needs. Which pushes it down on the priority chart. He is not known for purchasing solutions for the midfield, and with Joe Willock on the up, that may look the more appealing option.

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Plus, with the need to replace a departing Alexis taking No. 1 priority, that is where the bulk of any sort of transfer budget will be invested. Not in the midfield, where we still have bodies to cover for any lapses.

Having to spend money on that position takes away from spending money in the midfield, as Arsenal are notorious for their tight budget and it is yet to be seen what role Sven Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi will have on the transfer fortunes of this club.

So, without a free Goretzka, we may be forced to upgrade just one position, instead of two. And that’s not exactly a good thing.

Next: 5 Things We Will Learn From Aaron Ramsey Injury

Goretzka is being courted by Liverpool, Bayern, Barcelona and undoubtedly more. Arsenal will be up against it, but the amount of solutions that can be found in this one man should push his priority damn near to the top.

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