We’re all far too familiar with the narrative of how Arsenal were set to make the 2014 summer transfer window one of the most memorable yet, with the additions of Alexis Sanchez and others, but came up short with the failure to add a recognised central defender and defensive midfielder.
Arguably, Arsenal’s lack of depth in the heart of defence and the apparent absence of a pure defensive midfielder has cost the progression of the Gunners this season, and so the January transfer window offers Arsene Wenger the chance to rectify the club’s errors and bolster his squad.
One name which has followed us throughout the first half of the season is that of Sporting Lisbon’s defensive midfielder William Carvalho, a man who, according to the Portuguese & British media, Arsenal have kept a close eye on since the closure of the window.
Four months down the line, however, is Carvalho still the man to fill Arsenal’s midfield vacancy? The 22-year-old’s performances so far this season perhaps suggests that he isn’t. Despite receiving rave reviews for his displays in the 2013/14 season, earning a spot in Portugal’s 2014 World Cup squad, Carvalho has looked a shadow of the player we all envisaged in the current Arsenal setup.
Looking unusually sloppy, uninterested and, at times, lazy, many Sporting fans have even called for former Barcelona and Sporting Kansas City midfielder Oriol Rosell to temporarily replace Carvalho in the first team, with much of the assumption suggesting that the Portuguese midfielder’s mind is elsewhere, following the speculation linking him to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.
Regardless of his form, Carvalho has been a mainstay in Marco Silva’s team, with the difference in tactical organisation from Sporting’s current boss to the now AS Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim also worth mentioning as a reason as to why Carvalho hasn’t been himself this season. Sporting’s poor defensive displays are a testament to that, with Silva placing greater emphasis on the club’s strengths – their wingers.
The true dilemma for Wenger and his team comes as Carvalho has arguably never been as available for a transfer as he is in this very window. A restructuring of Sporting’s debt last November has enabled Sporting to buy back a percentage of the value of 34 players from third party, Sporting Portugal Fund, an organisation which belonged to their now bankrupt sponsor Banco Espírito Santo.
Leading the list is none other than Carvalho; of whom Sporting now owns 100% of his transfer market value. At the time in which the Portuguese midfielder was linked to Arsenal, a popular theory as to why the deal didn’t materialise was due to the Gunners not wanting to negotiate with third parties, who would receive 60% of his transfer value. Now back under Sporting’s grasp, this may facilitate the deal a little more for Arsenal, with the Lisbon club already keeping tabs on Hapoel Tel Aviv midfielder, Lucas Sasha.
Clearly, Carvalho’s performances this season have failed to suffice, but there can be very little doubts over his capability to fit the description of the deep, playmaking ball-winner, a requisite of Wenger’s since the Patrick Vieira days and one which Arsenal so desperately need in the middle of the park.
A very imposing figure alongside many miniscule playmakers in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, Carvalho’s passing range and composure ranks amongst the best in Portugal for quite some time, but it’s an occasional lapse of concentration creeping into his game that has blemished slightly our image of a player who had everything going right for him last season, especially when you picture him playing on current form in a league with greater intensity, such as the Barclays Premier League.
He is still young, considered very humble and with an undeniable talent, whereas his availability is at its clearest stage yet, but whether or not the past few months suggest Carvalho isn’t ready to play for a club like Arsenal only an experienced mind like Wenger’s can tell.
