Arsenal: Nabil Fekir the most ruthless assertion of the decade

Arsenal’s link to Nabil Fekir has been questioned due to overabundance, but might it actually be the biggest assertion of the past decade?

Does it sound a bit overly-dramatic? Perhaps. But Arsenal going balls-in on Nabil Fekir has raised a lot of question marks, from me in particular. I don’t see how he would fit into an attack that has already banked on Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan while also wanting to hand Alex Iwobi as many chances as humanly possible.

It seems like overkill. Yet, in the process of previewing the upcoming Manchester City clash in the Carabao Cup final, I realized that as soon as any one of those three Gunners isn’t available, then it’s pure desperation.

So let’s real talk. What would it mean for Arsenal to go after Nabil Fekir as their No. 1 target of the summer?

It would mean that, despite not letting Pep Guardiola take the throne, they are still utilizing some of his policies. Manchester City don’t just have a fantastic starting XI, their substitutes would start on most Premier League clubs.

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If something goes wrong – if Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva, Sane aren’t available, Bernardo Silva is ready. I remember when Bernardo Silva was signed. People were asking why he would relegate himself to the City bench.

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Well, people can ask the same about Fekir when he comes to Arsenal. Only he wouldn’t be relegating himself to the bench. The reason why Bernardo Silva hasn’t gotten into the City starting XI that much is because everything is working so well. If something were to go wrong, he’d be swapped in.

With the Gunners, somehting inevitably always goes wrong. With four competitions to fight in, there is rotation. There will also be chances galore to prove oneself when Ozil or Mkhitaryan miss time.

So why is it ruthless? Because the Gunners have not had a surplus at any position in years. Decades, even. They always have just enough to squeak by but as soon as something goes wrong, whether that be injury or poor form, they fall back into mediocrity because those are the types of players they employ behind their XI.

Fekir wants to prove that he belongs on the same level as Micky and Ozil and he won’t do that at Lyon. He may have to fight to get into the XI, but what do we always say about internal competition? Use it!!

This buries Alex Iwobi, too. He’d be fourth in line for these positions and, assuming Lacazette stays and we have two world class strikers, it’s looking like a hard-knock life for the Nigerian. But that’s what he needs to be successful. He needs to be pushed, to be spurred, to have to fight for it.

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I was hesitant about Fekir after Mkhitaryan, but I see it now. If you want to beat the best, you have to be able to cope with injuries and lapses in form. And by cope I don’t mean keep sending them out there. I mean putting someone in there who is actually capable of taking the spot for good.

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