According to a report tonight by the Mail Online’s Sami Mokbel, Arsène Wenger is refusing to rule out signing another winger; and Manchester United flop Ángel Di María is one of the names on the top of his list.
The same report claims that £42.4m attacking midfielder Mesut Özil will be given his favoured #10 spot throughout next season; despite Wenger often deploying him in wide roles on occasions in the last couple of years. Di María, a friend of Özil from their days at Real Madrid, could be a player to help the German’s form with his excellent runs which will give him another attacking option to look for when weighing up a final pass.
Additionally, reporter Mokbel informs us that Alexis Sánchez will be deployed in a wide position next season. Despite the fact that he has shown his class in central roles in recent years, Wenger feels that the Chilean is most effective from the wing; where he played for the majority of his first season in England, which most would agree was phenomenal.
It is unlikely that Manchester United will be willing to allow Di María to make the trip to North London, despite their unlikely blessing given to Danny Welbeck last summer. The clubs don’t have the best relationship and are both battling for European spots as well as, potentially, the league. Nonetheless, Di María is a player that manager Wenger is a fan of; as the Frenchman is a keen admirer of attacking players with flair.
Many will feel that the Argentinean international shouldn’t be amongst the top of the Arsenal bucket list, as other positions such as holding midfield and striker need to (debatably, but probably rightly) be addressed first.
We shall see how this one pans out – but, if something does happen, it sure is a statement from the Gunners!
