Arsenal: Max Meyer can provide “muddy” midfield some clarity

Arsenal’s midfield is a mess. Not in that it’s terribly ineffective, but in that no one knows where it’s headed. Max Meyer solves that.

As this season pushes on, there are only two things we should really be interested in – winning the Europa League and extending Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. This Arsenal midfield is just one giant question mark.

Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny are currently the only two guarantees and with each day that passes, I am less-than-enthusiastic that Wilshere and Ramsey may extend their deals. If the Gunners are so hellbent on a pay-as-you-play sort of deal for Wilshere, won’t they do the same for Ramsey?

Yet Ramsey is also worth upwards of £225,000 a week, and if he can’t get that at Arsenal, he absolutely can get it somewhere else.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles doesn’t appear to be ticketed for a future in the midfield either, so the question marks just keep popping up. The question of “who do you build around?” has to be weighing on some minds.

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As everyone should know by now, I believe you can build around Granit Xhaka. But next to him, there needs to be a high-energy ball winner that can offset Xhaka’s lack of pace while also providing a threat going forward. I find this so much more important than just a bruiser. Yes, we need a defense-first guy, but we also need someone who isn’t another Francis Coquelin, who can provide a quick thrust forward.

Max Meyer is this guy. I can’t say it enough. If we want a solid foundation to build around, stick a deep-lying Meyer next to Xhaka and let the two maximize the partnership. Meyer is a fresh face to the defensive midfield game, but Schalke have been using him as the deepest midfielder and he has been doing so well with it that he has worked his way to the top of the charts in terms of defensive midfielders in Germany.

Meyer has long held a ton of potential for his attacking aspects alone. The fact that he now has a similar high ceiling defensively is just too much goodness to pass up.

Plus he’s free, which is always a bonus.

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The Gunners need some reliability in that midfield and, assuming that nothing changes, Meyer is the guy they are looking for. 22-years-old, as versatile as they come and the perfect, perfect replacement for Santi Cazorla.