Arsenal: Forget Thomas Partey and get Marcel Sabitzer

Arsenal fans may be sold on Thomas Partey, but have you all met Marcel Sabitzer? He’s the midfielder we’ve wanted for ages.

Just the other day, I wrote about how Thomas Partey has united all Arsenal fans as the one transfer rumor that all can agree on. He’s a tremendous option, the kind of midfielder that would bolster the foundation of this midfield incredibly and I do think, no matter what I’m about to say, that Partey is an intelligent addition.

But then there is Marcel Sabitzer. A guy who I often overlook due to my Schalke affinity, but a guy who should be the top of every list, even a list that includes Thomas Partey. In fact, when weighed one against the other, I’ll just go ahead and say it—forget Partey and go after Sabitzer.

I love Partey, but one of the big drawbacks is no matter who in his midfield you pair with Partey (Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi—I’m assuming we can’t keep Dani Ceballos if we buy Sabitzer), we have zero attacking prospects. Even if you go with a midfield three. Still very little attacking hopes.

That’s a problem. We need production coming out of the midfield or we end up in situations like we had this year, where the strikers are stranded with nothing to do because the midfield isn’t that interested in attacking.

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Marcel Sabitzer is the guy to change all of that. He’s what Aaron Ramsey could have been if Ramsey could have stayed healthy. He’s a constant threat, and he’s the perfect link between defense and attack.

Speaking of defense, even if you think that defense is the top priority of this midfield, which is a solid argument, Sabitzer is no slouch. He has the strength and presence to be a force to be reckoned with.

But with the attacking push, we balance the angles of our attack so it isn’t completely isolated to the wings. That is something we haven’t properly experienced in years. It’s something Ceballos has given us a taste of, but not the full thing.

Again—Sabitzer is the full thing. He’s the midfielder to bring an attacking threat through the middle of the pitch.

The link to Sabitzer is not strong. In fact, Tottenham, who was recently eaten by Sabitzer, is linked more heavily. But there is time to change that, now we just have to actually go and change it.