Arsenal: Piotr Zielinski everything that is wrong with this team

Arsenal are being linked with a £57 million move for Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski. The 23-year-old, while talented, is everything that is wrong with this team.

The summer transfer window is well and truly on the horizon. It is steaming towards us at a relentless pace. The pens are scribbling, the whispers are circulating, the hope is rising, the madness will soon ensue. And Arsenal have a whole lot of work to do.

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There is a vast number of positions that the Gunners need to address in this upcoming window. Centre-half is certainly one, as is full-back, potential both of them if the budget stretches far enough, as is goalkeeper and winger.

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However, and I have unfortunately stated this for more than a decade, such is the inability of this club to first highlight and then address needs, the biggest problem that needs significant investment is defensive midfield. It was hoped that Alex Song would be this man. He wasn’t. It was hoped that Mikel Arteta would be this man. He wasn’t. It was hoped that Francis Coquelin would be this man. He wasn’t. It was hoped that Granit Xhaka would be this man. He isn’t. And so the search continues. Sadly, and predictably, Arsenal haven’t got the memo.

Instead, if reports from Italy are to be believed, the Gunners are more interested in a different type of central midfielder. Ivan Gazidis, Sven Mislintat and the new brain trust at the Emirates, even without a new manager in place, are reportedly pressing in exploring the possibility of signing Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski, with the Pole said to have a £57 million release clause in his contract.

Zielinski, for those who aren’t aware, is a well-rounded central midfielder who has been adapted from an attacking midfield role. With a lovely first touch, great composure on the ball and accurate, creative distribution, he has grown into a mainstay at the heart of the Napoli team, one of the most exciting sides in European football this season.

And at 23, he is a highly-touted individual for the future. His development certainly has not finished yet and many believe that he could blossom into an excellent central midfielder. There is just one problem. He is everything that is wrong with Arsenal football club.

That may be a tad harsh. It is not his fault that he is everything wrong with Arsenal football club. He is just the perfect example of their problems over the past decade or so. Zielinski is not a holding midfielder. While he does have an aggressive attitude, especially in the tackle, he is not a defence-first individual. He wants to press forward, play pretty football, and partake in the attacking moves of his team. And he is talented enough to do so.

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But that is not what this team needs. This team does not need another pretty, intelligent, but attacking midfielder; this team needs a hard-nosed destroyer to anchor the midfield and screen the defence. Zielinski may be a talented player, but he is precisely why the Gunners have toiled for so many years.