%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Arsenal: 6 Cut-Price Transfers to Fill Dani Ceballos’ Boots
By Mac Johnson
John McGinn – £18 million
Aston Villa’s Scottish dynamo would be our best option if we were looking to replace Ceballos’ dynamism and creativity in the form of a box-to-box midfielder.
He’s a hard-running, tricky-dribbling, whirling dervish of a central midfielder who is as skilled a passer as he is a tackler. While he doesn’t have as much guile as the Spaniard, he makes up for it in constant intensity at both ends of the pitch.
He’s proven himself in the Premier League, and with three goals and three assists this campaign, brought a lot to the table for a Villa side entrenched in the relegation mire all campaign.
He started in 27 of the 28 Premier League games he featured in this season, and was only substituted six times. Villa manager Dean Smith turned to him repeatedly to create chances and drive the midfield on. Oftentimes, only McGinn and Jack Grealish stood between the squad and defeat this season.
To prove that point, when McGinn was sidelined with an ankle injury, Aston Villa conceded 28 goals, more than 1/3 of the 67 goals they conceded this season. They also collected ten points from the 30 on offer, and fell from 16th to 19th in the table. In that time, they only played three teams in the top half of the table.
Pros of Signing McGinn
He’s a Premier League quality midfielder who we can likely siphon away from Villa for less than £20m. He’s the ideal box-to-box midfielder, provides another left-footed player in a team bereft of them, and is a known commodity.
He would fit well with whatever tactical system Mikel Arteta chooses to employ, and at 25, still has a lot of his career ahead of him. The time to make a step up into a higher echelon of football is now for John McGinn, and I don’t think he could say no if Arsenal came calling.
Cons of Signing McGinn
The injuries are the biggest issue. He missed ten games this season due to an ankle injury – which would’ve been far more without the league’s postponement – having played the full 90 minutes every game beforehand.
In a similar vein to Laimer, McGinn controlled the midfield, but relied on Grealish to create a majority of the chances for the team. He, like everyone else in this half of the list, covers only part of what Ceballos brings to our team.