At a Glance:
- Arsenal are interested in signing Sandro Tonali this summer.
- The Gunners are looking to add another midfielder to their ranks, and Mikel Arteta views the Italian as the perfect candidate.
- Here are four players who would be impacted by the prospective signing of Tonali.
Arsenal are reportedly pursuing Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali this summer, as Andrea Berta looks to bolster Mikel Arteta’s midfield department ahead of next season.
The Gunners are eager to add another player in the middle of the park after Martin Zubimendi suffered from fatigue in the second half of last campaign, and with Christian Norgaard expected to leave. A number of players who operate in this area of the pitch have been linked, including the likes of Mateus Fernandes and Ayyoub Bouaddi, but it appears as though Berta is leaning towards Newcastle’s Italian workhorse.
Fabrizio Romano revealed on Friday that Arsenal are indeed keen on Tonali, with Arteta viewing him as a priority target. With that said, here are four Gunners players who would be impacted by the signing of Tonali.
Winners from Arsenal signing Sandro Tonali
Declan Rice
Declan Rice played well over 4,000 minutes last season, and while he didn’t struggle to cope with this excessive workload, if replicated in every season for the rest of his career, this won’t be sustainable.
Tonali’s potential arrival should offer the England international some respite. The former AC Milan man possesses some similar attributes to Rice, with his ability to cover ground and his combativeness is duels closely resembling the Gunners’ talismanic midfielder.
If the deal happens, Tonali will take minutes from Rice, and the ex-West Ham captain will be better for it.
Martin Zubimendi
Zubimendi has never experienced a season like his debut campaign at Arsenal. The former Real Sociedad man is used to being used much more sparingly, and the burden of playing 90 minutes almost every three days clearly caught up with him from January onwards.
He won’t get much rest this summer, as he’s now in North America preparing for the World Cup with Spain. If Tonali signs for Arsenal, it’s likely he’ll start the new season ahead of Zubimendi, given he has the summer off after Italy failed to qualify for the tournament.
This rest would actually do Zubimendi the world of good, and could see him enjoy a much-improved second season when he’s ready to play regularly again.
Losers from Arsenal signing Sandro Tonali
Mikel Merino
After such a long spell out through injury, Mikel Merino returns to the Arsenal fold in a somewhat uncertain position. Rice and Zubimendi were already ahead of him in the pecking order, and he may now have to deal with competition from Tonali, as well as the emerging Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The Italy international’s presence in Arteta’s squad will undoubtedly see Merino’s minutes take a significant hit next season. While Tonali doesn’t offer the same box-crashing capabilities as the Spaniard, his physicality and defensive work is arguably more impressive, creating some level of redundancy for Merino.
Myles Lewis-Skelly
Just a few months ago, Lewis-Skelly was facing an uphill battle to keep his place at Arsenal. He’d slipped to third choice in the left-back pecking order and wasn’t considered an option in midfield.
He then enjoyed an excellent end to the season in the middle of the park, and likely assumed that he’d earned this spot in the squad moving forward. However, serious links to Tonali will have the Hale End graduate fretting once again.
If Tonali arrives in N5, where does that leave Lewis-Skelly?
