Arsenal: Ever Banega trying to make a good thing great

Arsenal are being heavily tied to Ever Banega. Not a terrible idea, but Banega doesn’t want to settle for just good. He wants great.

Here I was thinking that all of Arsenal’s business would be wrapped up early, but with so many new players popping up into the transfer spectrum on any given day, we may be in for a long, but exciting, summer.

Next up is Ever Banega. 29-year-old Argentine midfielder that has been like a sidekick to Unai Emery from Valencia to Sevilla.

Banega is linked to a very cheap £10m move to Arsenal. It’s a harmless move, but it seems to have a lot of people confused as to why exactly the Gunners would be interested in the Argentine’s services.

I will endeavor to answer that for you, while in turn explaining why Banega may undo the move himself by trying to turn a good thing into great.

Arsenal’s midfield has a lot of talent. Granit Xhaka is an anchor, Aaron Ramsey is ideally staying and a superstar, Ainsley Maitland-Niles is up-and-coming and Mohamed Elneny is a reliable rotational option.

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With Jack Wilshere on the out and Lucas Torreira on the in, that keeps the Gunners at a solid five reliable midfielders.

But that’s not enough. Unless we are counting on youngsters to make their move, five midfielders across three positions is actually rather thin given how many competitions Arsenal are going to be involved in. Ideally, they would have six guys they can call on to do a job.

Steven N’Zonzi has been linked, but the emergence of Ever Banega makes me wonder if he isn’t a better option. He’s a veteran, versatile in the center of the pitch and, that all important thing – reliable. He can win the ball, create chances and contribute to goals.

That’s more versatile than N’Zonzi.

I get the confusion, as Banega isn’t a glory signing. But it may fall through if the reports are true. Apparently, Banega wants to be told up front what his role with the club will be. There’s no harm in that. Moving to Arsenal is a good thing, but regular playing time there is a great thing, and surely Banega just wants to know how he will be used.

Thankfully, for him, he can expect regular time. Maybe not as much in the Premier League, but in other competitions, which can provide a good deal of prestige as well.

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Depth is important. It always is. And the midfield is one place where you absolutely cannot expect a thin crop of players to do the heavy-lifting all year. Get the proper troops in there. Banega is a trooper, and a cheap one. So grant him a certain number of minutes or appearances and accept the reinforcements.

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