Arsenal: Wilfried Zaha is worth all of it

According to Football.London, Arsenal would have to blow their full budget on Wilfried Zaha. Given the make-up of their squad and his talent, he would be worth it.

Arsenal have a winger problem. Not only do they have a lack of options in the wide attacking positions, but the ones that are currently at the club, which excludes the returning Reiss Nelson, those that have played out wide are more natural in central roles.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Pragmatism, clean sheets, and Unai Emery

Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi are the individuals that Unai Emery has relied upon the most to fill his wide roles this season. They are not lacking players, but they do play the role in a similar manner, drifting into pockets of space more centrally, rather than maintaining width with speed off the ball and direct dribbling.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

The winger position, in my opinion, is the biggest need to address this summer. And according to recent reports, Emery agrees. On Sunday, the Gunners experienced the emphatic impact of having to deal with a dribbling, skilful, direct winger. And that winger, Wilfried Zaha, has been mentioned as a possible target this summer.

According to Football.London, Arsenal have had an extended interest in Zaha, though they have never made an official enquiry or offer. The report also states that that interest has intensified since Emery arrived last summer. Clearly, there is some desire to sign Zaha. But there is a major question: money.

Palace have reportedly rated Zaha at around £75 million. According to the same report, if Champions League qualification is achieved, Emery will have around £75 million to spend, plus player sales depending on what resources can be recruited.

Zaha, then, would cost pretty much the whole transfer budget. Should he be signed, few other positions would be properly addressed. The risk in solely investing in one player is great when the squad is lacking in more than one or two areas. However, I believe that Zaha is worth that risk, and not just because of his ability.

The Ivorian is a sensational footballer, the best outside the top six in the Premier League. But the Arsenal squad is also such that they do not need to sign five or six players in five or six positions to add depth to it. Numbers are not necessarily the problem. The issue lies in the top-tier quality of the squad, not the depth of it.

And so, signing an elite player like Zaha makes a lot more sense from that perspective. Yes, there are plenty of other areas that I would like to see the club address, but if there is only so much money to spend, likely less than £100 million, even with the player sales included, it might be more beneficial to focus those resources on one or two stars, not spreading it throughout the squad.

Wilfried Zaha is a tremendous footballer and a tremendously expensive footballer. He will likely cost all of Arsenal’s budget. And yet, I still think he is worth it.