Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey for Ousmane Dembele isn’t really the point

Arsenal are tied to another unlikely swap deal, this one involving Aaron Ramsey and Ousmane Dembele, which would defeat all the points.

Swap deals really aren’t a thing in football, yet, naturally, Arsenal had to pull one off in January, when they swapped Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and, just like that, swap deals became a thing.

Now, we are being linked with our first major swap deal since January.

In this go-around, the two names being talked about are Aaron Ramsey and Ousmane Dembele. According to the report, Barcelona will finally be willing to let Dembele go if they can get Ramsey in return.

When you compare the players in individuality, it’s not a bad deal. I don’t want to see Ramsey leave, but if he is going to leave, then landing a premier young player is a good way to do it. It isn’t in this theater that I have the qualms.

It’s in the theater of the bigger picture.

Yes, we would get a fantastic player in return for losing a fantastic player, but what does this do formationally? It limits the club even more. The midfield gets weaker and the attack gets stronger, but the attack is already stronger than the midfield, so all we are therefore doing is overloading one end of the formation and losing some of the balance.

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In case you haven’t noticed, the attack is supercharged. So supercharged, that at least one elite player is going to be sitting. It is being questioned how Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette can all fit into the same formation around Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. There isn’t an easy answer. The 4-3-3 is the best option thus far, but it’s a bit lopsided.

4-4-2 could be interesting, but width would be far more limited.

In none of these situations is there a need for another first-team attacker like Dembele. Which is fine. Let him come on and be the supersub with the potential to upset someone and take their spot. That isn’t the problem.

The problem is the midfield thins. Dembele doesn’t play central mid. Nor does Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Lacazette or Aubameyang. So we would be losing a top-tier guy in our starting XI to gain a supersub.

And I don’t reckon anybody new would be coming into the mix. Which makes things even more stressful, if young players don’t pan out.

It may sound fun, but it’s a confusing swap to make.