There are whispers around the Emirates that head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has recommended a raid on Dortmund for another of its gems, in the form of young defensive midfielder Julian Weigl.
The connection is an obvious one with Mislintat heavily involved in the recruitment and scouting process at his former club but it will take at least £40 million to sign him and the German club will be reluctant to lose another emerging star to a club which has already plundered Aubameyang.
There are other options, but Mislintat has been interested in bringing the defensive midfielder to the Emirates since his arrival and has monitored the player on a regular basis.
His contacts within the club have given regular feedback and that has lead to an initial discussion with Arsene Wenger over a possible move. It remains to be seen if the connection between the two is similar to that of Mislintat and Aubameyang but it could be a distinct advantage in the negotiating process.
There are other DM’s that would be of potential interest such as Leicester City’s Ndidi, who has performed well this season, Roman Zobnin of Spartak and Thiago Maia of Lille, all of which would add some much-needed steel to the middle of the park but Mislintat is thought to have placed Weigl at the top of his shopping list.
The position hasn’t really been filled since the days of Petit and Vieira and the likes of Granit Xhaka and Elneny are not in the same class as that particular pair. One could argue that Arsenal’s current problems are a direct result of their failure to invest in that particular area. They have gone cheap on occasion and it simply hasn’t worked with the side suffering as a result.
It’s no coincidence that a host of top sides already have a quality defensive midfielder and perhaps that is a reason for their success. Leicester had N’Golo Kante in their premiership winning season and Real Madrid have the defensive shield of Casemiro.
It’s a position that has grown in stature and is seen by many as an essential requirement because of the pace associated with the modem game. If Arsenal could finally put together a robust spine , then their chances of fighting for all the major competitions would improve substantially , Weigl or someone like him , would be another major part of the missing puzzle.
