Arsenal Want Isco in January – A Subpar Stop-Gap

Arsenal’s interest in Isco is real and a January move in the offing.

The transfer season is rarely ever boring. There have been times where Arsenal have done diddly squat and irked their millions of supporters, but even on those occasions the rumours have swirled to incite some giddiness.

The speculation about Isco, however, is very real.

Picked up by outlets across Europe, including the Press Association, Telegraph, Daily Mail and about a dozen others, AS in Spain have continued to provide updates and their latest development heavily suggests that a move is imminent from the Gunners.

Talk of Mikel Arteta eyeing up his fellow Spaniard emerged back in November, when Arsenal’s dearth of creativity and increasingly frightful plight was at near breaking point.

Chances weren’t forthcoming, let alone goals, with every man and his dog linked with a move to north London to help stem the turgid tide. Given the situation of Isco at Real Madrid, as well as his profile and track-record, his name cropped up amid a flurry of other creative midfielders not earning their wage on the pitch.

Christian Eriksen was involved in the conversation, so too Julian Brandt, with none of the trio earning the regular minutes they’d have liked at their respective clubs. As for Isco, he’s started only three matches all campaign for Los Blancos, not completing 90 minutes even once.

His grievances are public knowledge, as it’s become clear that Zinedine Zidane has no place for the 28-year-old in his side. Are Arsenal the side to offer him an escape route in January?

Arsenal Want Isco ‘Now’

A story that first emerged as somewhat opportunistic has now gathered enough pace to be worthy of serious contention. As the Spanish outlet have stated, Arteta’s desire to sign the midfielder in January is no joke. He wants him ‘now’.

So too do several of the ‘main teams’ in Europe who are all monitoring the situation, one that appears inevitable to end up with Isco donning a different kit come next month.

Sevilla are in the running and deemed as Isco’s first choice, primarily as he can be close to his native Malaga, where his family lives. Overall, his preference is to remain in La Liga, and ideally under Julen Lopetegui.

The winter window opens on Friday 1 January, with Arteta stating after the victory over Brighton that two positive results will not succeed in altering his approach in the transfer market. A creative midfield addition is still desired.

Isco is by no means the only option Arsenal are pursuing, having seen Dominik Szoboszlai already scribbled off the list and Houssem Aouar‘s case unlikely to be reopened until the summer. Norwich’s Emi Buendia is also among those mentioned.

Gaining traction by the day, a loan bid for Isco is seemingly Arteta’s ideal stop-gap option. Real Madrid want to sell in the summer to help balance the books, with a fee of €20m (£18m) ($24.5m) said to be the desired figure. It’s stated that Sevilla remain the frontrunners prior to Arsenal’s official bid, as they would be willing to fork out the $7m salary ahead of paying the transfer fee in the summer.

Arsenal only want a six-month loan deal with no purchase option, which will be part of negotiations with Madrid not just in the coming weeks, but indeed right now. If Arsenal had to buy him at the end of a short-term deal, where would that leave them? If they do secure a loan, would it be a wise move?

Pros and Cons of Isco Deal

Certain names incite certain emotions. If Isco’s name crops up then immediately we’re transported to the glamorous reaches of Real Madrid, where the milky white strip is adorned by some of the finest footballers in the world.

Isco could easily be the poster boy for Los Blancos…five years ago. He is now a shadow of his former self.

Purely from an ability standpoint, the Spaniard has been desperately poor for nearly three seasons. Taking stats at their absolute value isn’t always wise, yet when we’re dealing with a creative midfielder whose job it is to provide and score, 12 goal involvements in his last 78 matches doesn’t read well, and Madrid have better players for Isco to blend with than Arsenal.

Of course, he has been in and out of the team during this spell, but the reasons for that are none other than him being miles off the levels he produced midway through the decade.

Would he suit in Arsenal’s system? 4-3-3 is the setup that Madrid opt for and he’s comfortable drifting into wide zones and playing alongside two central midfielders. So, on that basis, yes. Equally, if it’s for six months with no obligation to purchase, bulking up the numbers in that area by 100% is both desired and essential.

Could he have an impact during that time? If he can’t make an impression in home matches against the likes of Real Valladolid, it’s tough to make an argument for him doing likewise against physically imposing opposition such as Burnley. He’d get bullied, and the adjustment period would be, possibly, the whole six months long.

There is basis behind Arteta’s thinking, even looking at the recent win over Brighton, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made darting runs that weren’t picked out. Arsenal’s goal threat would increase dramatically with midfielders adept at sliding through those passes, thus someone known for his weight of pass, coming in on a short-term deal, makes absolute sense.

Isco isn’t world class, though. Not even close. He was, but he sure isn’t now.

The Spaniard needs a change of club to revitalise his career. Oftentimes, moves to the right clubs can galvanise a player ten-fold, rediscovering the talent they always had and catapulting them into the limelight.

Isco has played twice for Spain in two years, even Dani Ceballos has featured more. Bring him in to Arsenal by all means Arteta, just don’t expect him to pull up trees.