Who can replace our midfield general Patrick Viera?

Arsenal, 12 years later, have never replaced Patrick Vieira. I look at some of the possible names who could succeed the great Frenchman.

Arsenal lost Patrick Vieira back in 2005 to Juventus. Ever since, they have been looking for a replacement for years. Is there really a replacement for a player with the pedigree and the steel that embodied the striding, surging Frenchman?

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Standing at 6-foot-4, Vieira is the kind of player that you don’t want to go near, fearing your head coming off. The Gunners have been crying out for a player like Vieira. There have been many attempts to replace him. None have been successful.

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We thought that Francis Coquelin and Granit Xhaka were the heirs to the throne. But, unfortunately, that plan has backfired: Xhaka pushes so far forward that he could be a second striker, while Coquelin sits way too deep; while Xhaka is quite adept at distribution, especially in the longer range, Coquelin has no technical ability, limited to being purely a ball-winning midfielder. Arsenal now have two midfielders that have no idea what positions they play.

That is why I find the recent reports highlighting  Steven N’zonzi as somewhat baffling. He is not the midfielder that is needed. N’Zonzi lacks the ball skills and the awareness, the certain swagger and character, as well as a key element of calmness and composure on the ball, to replicate the same leading qualities of Vieira.  He may have the 6-foot-4 height that has long been missing from the Arsenal midfield. He may have the grit and the steel that is painfully absent.  But that does not mean he is the solution to succeeding Vieira.

Will Arsenal ever find a player with the same pedigree as Vieira? As long as Arsene Wenger is at the club, I have my doubts. He seemingly wants to evolve this midfield around players like Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. They are very different to Vieira, that’s for sure.

There have been links with the likes of Leon Goretzka and William Carvalho. Both players have been rumoured with a North London move for some time, even with Goretzka more recently reportedly signing with Bayern Munich, though there is some uncertainty with such reports. But both lack a key Vieirian element: Carvalho, while tall and strong, is not the same distributor and orchestrator on the ball; Goretzka is more akin to Ramsey or Wilshere, not Vieira.

The one player who does fit the bill, in my eyes, is Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund. He is tall, at 6-foot-2, is adept technically, and is not afraid to get stuck in. He has the potential to be the complete midfielder, and all at the tender age of 22. Will he cost a lot? Yes, more than likely as Dortmund do not like to let go of their younger talent. But will he be worth it? Well, that is another question altogether.

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If it means that you get another Patrick Vieira, I would suggest that he’s worth whatever is necessary.