Arsenal and Emil Forsberg: Why oh why oh why?

Arsenal are being linked with a move for RB Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg. The only question that I can ask myself is a very simple one: Why?

It will be fascinating to see who the new brand of Arsenal will target this summer. Arsene Wenger is no longer the sole voice in decisions. There are new styles, new targets, new philosophies. And, presumably, there will be new types of players signed. This is now a very different club.

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But, if the reports in Sweden are anything to go by, the same old mistakes are set to be made. The mistakes of buying the same players, unneeded recruits, focusing on the attack and not the defence, could again be made.

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Arsenal are being linked with a move for RB Leipzig and Swedish midfielder Emil Forsberg. There has been rumoured interest in the past, especially last summer, but a bid was never made and the interest was never more than merely mentioned. It seemed as if this was just paper talk. This could very easily be paper talk as well. And, in fact, I hope it is.

When I heard the links, my first question was ‘why?’ Why did the Gunners want to sign Forsberg? The midfielder is a technical, intelligent, creative attacker. He likes to drift throughout the pitch without defensive shackles. He wants to be heavily involved, roaming around the edge of the penalty area, searching for that incisive pass, cross or shot. Does that sound familiar?

It should. Arsenal already have a plethora of players built in a very similar mould to Forsberg. Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Iwobi, Jack Wilshere. All these players like to play in that same of style. That’s already too many. So why buy more?

And not only is Forsberg another body, but he is an expensive one. While a price is not mentioned in the reports, it is unlikely that it would be less than £40 million. If the reports of a £50 million transfer budget are true, then it makes little sense to spend almost all of it on a player that is not needed.

Furthermore, this is not like Manchester City who have a limited number of needs and can simply look to add any players who they deem worthy no matter the position. There are some gaping holes in this squad, holes that must be filled if a title or top-four challenge is to be even considered. Forsberg addresses none of them.

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And so I come back to the same question: Why? Why would the Gunners pursue a player like Forsberg? I still cannot find a satisfactory answer.