Arsenal: Is Wilfried Zaha the absolute best that can be done?

Arsenal’s search for a quality winger is certainly still on the cards, and in the process, we really need to ask ourselves what exactly we need.

Arsenal are going for a winger, and they are turning over a lot of stones to try to find one. The good news is that they are going for a quality one, and not just any one. The names that have been tossed around are the best of the bunch.

But before we even start talking about who might be the best, we need to ascertain what exactly we are looking for.

As it stands, the Gunners attack is narrow, but set. They have two fantastic creative attackers, both of whom play centrally, and they have more behind those two – young guys, but more central guys.

So we’ve re-established the need for a winger.

In terms of specifics, I don’t think Wilfried Zaha is the best thing for the club. What Zaha would bring is the need to be in first team contention from the onset. He is a player that suffers from motivational issues and if he were to be made to fight for the role, the consequences could be questionable.

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Zaha brings a here and now element to signing a winger. He would plug in directly to the first team. If that’s what we needed. But it’s not.

What we need is a long-term solution to build around. A Plan B fast track, is a good way to think about it. And to me, I don’t think that Zaha accomplishes that. He is far too immediate.

Someone like Kinglsey Coman and Ousmane Dembele would be far more flexible in their building time, one would have to imagine. They would have a bit more patience than Zaha. Such that, when the time comes that this central attacking scheme is getting old, or just ineffective, then chances are we are going to have at least one really good winger to grant a second option.

I just don’t think that chance will come this year. If the Gunners do get a winger this summer, there will be plenty of playing time, but maybe not so much of a prominent role.

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This may seem oddly specific, but I can’t help but be that way when we’ve been spoiled a bit this summer with damn near perfect solutions every time. Zaha isn’t a perfect solution. If anything, Leon Bailey is the closest.

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