There was a tsunami of backlash to the current Arsenal set-up this weekend following their defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round, with even former players Paul Merson and Charlie Nicholas engaging in a heated debate as to where the Gunners currently stand under manager Unai Emery.
The Spanish coach has been adamant that the club cannot afford to bring in any new faces this January transfer window, leaving fingernails bitten by many a Gooner, particularly with Man Utd also making ground on them in the Premier League table in recent weeks to go level on points.
BBC Sports’ David Ornstein reports that Arsenal have made an approach to sign the Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic, initially on loan with a £35 million option to buy in the summer, when presumably, funds will be available.
Though the Croatian is now expected to be dropped from Inter’s immediate fixtures following the proposition, should this be ultimately refused by the nerazzurri, Arsenal must sanction the exchange of Mesut Ozil to procure Perisic, in a deal that would not only stagger, but illuminate what has been a fairly dull month of transfer activity.
29-year-old Perisic, you may remember not only from his heroics at the World Cup with his national team of Croatia, helping to break England hearts in the semi-finals of the tournament, but from also being a former reported target for Man Utd, then under Jose Mourinho’s management.
With Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette presenting an enviable attack for Arsenal, but the sporadically impressive Alex Iwobi on the left flank questionable, Perisic would undoubtedly be an asset.
It is no secret that Mesut Ozil isn’t particularly favoured by Emery, seemingly tied down to the German thanks to the practices of the regime of his predecessor Arsene Wenger who coerced Ozil almost a year ago into signing a new three-year deal at the club worth a behemothic £350,000 a week.
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So far, the 30-year-old has made just 17 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions; a combination of injury and managerial preference. A previously renowned assist-provider, Ozil has a tally of only two so far.
With Radja Nainggolan’s failings since moving to Internazionale from Roma last summer also well-documented, Ozil could well do to claim the position of attacking midfielder his own. The deal would be seen as fair for both sides; a similar age of player, with similar contract tenures at either club (Perisic’s expires in 2022).
For Arsenal, though they would have to no doubt contribute to Ozil’s herculean wages to secure the swap, it would fundamentally provide a remarkable coup over their current nearest Premier League rivals Man Utd who themselves have yet to dip into the transfer market this New Year.
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