Arsenal: Wilfried Zaha the right kind of different

Arsenal are tentatively being linked with a move for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. The 25-year-old is the right kind of different that could add a new element to the Gunners attack.

The season is drawing to a close. That means that the on-pitch news cycle is beginning to die down and the madness of the transfer rumour mill is starting to whirr. And, as ever, and perhaps even more intensely than other years due to the uncertainty of the club now entering the post-Arsene Wenger era, Arsenal are at the heart of it.

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There will be a whole plethora of names linked with moves to the Emirates. Some will be plucked from thin air; others will be based on genuine whispers that reporters have heard around the corridors of London Colney. But one this is for certain, this team is in need of some serious investment.

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Primarily, it is in defence that the most help must come. Full-back, centre-half, goalkeeper and defensive midfield are all positions of great need and could do with a significant upgrade this summer. But there is one other position that I would like to highlight as the summer window begins to loom, one that is not a defensive one, but an offensive one. I am, of course, referring to the age-old, traditional, chalk-on-his-boots winger.

Ever since the departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer and Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez in January, Arsenal do not really have an out-and-out winger, a player with great speed, balance, agility, and dribbling quality, such that they receive the ball in wide areas and beat opposing defenders in one-on-one situations. Currently, the wide options are the likes of Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Danny Welbeck, all of which are more comfortable in different positions. A winger, then, may not be the same level of need as some defensive reinforcements, but it is still an area of concern.

And there is one obvious Premier League candidate that is being linked to a whole host of different clubs who I believe Arsenal should be at least exploring this summer.

Wilfried Zaha has been excellent for Crystal Palace this season. Eight goals and three assists in 2461 minutes of Premier League thus far, yielding a direct involvement in a goal every 223.7 minutes, Zaha has been a consistent attacking threat for a team scrapping against relegation and providing little support around him.

He has made 1.8 key passes per game, which would be second-most of players currently at the Emirates, he has attempted 2.2 shots per game, which would be equal-third-most with Alexandre Lacazette, and he has attempted 0.5 crosses per game, which would be fourth-most. But there are two other statistics that I particularly want to draw your eye to.

Firstly, he attempts 6.8 dribbles per game, completing 4.1 per game. Of players currently in the Arsenal squad, Jack Wilshere attempts the most per game, but is at a lowly 2.8, a little more than a third of Zaha’s attempts, and completes just 2.3 per game. No other player in the squad completes more than 1.5 dribbles per game.

Secondly, he is fouled 2.7 times per game. The highest in the current squad is Jack Wilshere, 1.9 times per game. In fact, only Wilshere, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey are fouled at over half the frequency that Zaha is.

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Zaha may or may not be the best player that Arsenal could sign this summer. I don’t know. But he does provide the perfect case study for the type of attacking wide-threat that is required. It is a major shortcoming of this team and absence from this squad. Zaha is different to any other player in the squad, and that makes him a wonderfully intriguing signing indeed.

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