Arsenal’s new midfielder: Abdoulaye Doucoure or Mario Lemina?

Arsenal have been linked with two Premier League midfielders in Abdoulaye Doucoure and Mario Lemina of Watford and Southampton. Which one should they choose?

Arsenal need a new midfielder. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who denies that. They don’t just need any midfielder, however, they need a new defensive midfielder. Granit Xhaka, the current ‘defensive’ midfielder’, is not defensive enough, while Mohamed Elneny, despite being a perfectly adequate and usable squad player, lacks the cutting-edge, upper-tier quality required to succeed at the top level.

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Good news, then, that recent reports have linked Arsenal with Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure and Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina. Both are quality midfielders, proving it throughout the year with their respective clubs, and offer an intriguing avenue that should certainly be explored.

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Doucoure is the kind of player managers look for if you’re looking for a bargain Paul Pogba. He may be nowhere near Pogba’s quality, or will ever command the kind of fee, but he is the same kind of player. Joining Watford from Stade Rennais for a little over £8 million in 2016, he has the work rate and the defensive skills to really help out the protection that the midfield offers the back-line.

His passing is not as good as other midfielders, but he makes up for it with pace, athleticism and a great anticipation of the game, both in and out of possession. Arsenal have been crying out for solid defensive midfielders since the days of Patrick Viera and Gilberto Silva. Doucoure can be exactly that figure. Now, Watford would command quite the fee for the Frenchman as he has become the heartbeat of the team, but given his age — he has just turned 25 — and his experience of Premier League football, he might just be worth it.

Similarly, Lemina was an unknown quantity when he arrived on English shores. Signed from Juventus for a reported £18 million, he instantly established himself as a deep-lying playmaker for the Saints.

Often starting attacks from deep and then running up to support, he is tough on the challenges and yet very smart in possession. Very much akin to Aaron Ramsey, he likes to join the attacks but can also rush back to support. He is also a two-time Italian champion and two time Italian Cup winner, so he has the added benefit of experience, even at such a young age — 24 years old.

He perhaps lacks the same athleticism of Doucoure, but he is a little more intelligent on the ball, utilising his greater nous in comparison to Doucoure’s surges from deep. Doucoure seems like the player Arsenal need, but Lemina is the kind of quality that they lack when eluding high-pressing opponents in possession.

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Both players would benefit Arsenal. However, if I could only buy one, it would have to be Doucoure, only because he has the defensive knowledge and work-rate that is painfully absent. He would slot in well alongside Wilshere or Ramsey in that midfield and allow them to get forward without having to worry about their defensive duties. That is the player that has been missing for many years. Perhaps this summer, it is a role that could finally be filled.