Depending on which report you read, Arsenal have problems in a number of positions across the pitch. A lack of experienced centre-backs has today led to suggestions that Francis Coquelin could start the season at the heart of defence, with Per Mertesacker sidelined, Laurent Koscielny handed an extended leave of absence following his exertions at Euro 2016 and summer signing Rob Holding’s inexperience. Arsene Wenger’s decision to drop the Frenchman back would have had larger ramifications had the Gunners not secured the signing of Granit Xhaka prior to the European Championship.
Further forward, Jamie Vardy rejecting Arsenal in favour of staying at Premier League champions Leicester has highlighted the need for another striker, particularly in the wake of Danny Welbeck’s latest injury blow. The England man’s versatility on the frontline is a bonus to Wenger, but with a knee problem sidelining Welbeck for the foreseeable future, Arsenal need to dip into the transfer market once more or run the risk of falling behind their rivals in the race for the title.
While a striker could feasibly be a priority for Wenger, despite Olivier Giroud’s effective performances for France at Euro 2016, the Frenchman is hoping his latest raid of the defending champions will prove more of a formality than the previous attempt. Along with Vardy and Chelsea new boy N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez was the star man for the Foxes in their surprise title win last term. The Algerian gained a better WhoScored rating (7.84) than any other player in the Premier League last season.
Of course, his excellent form hasn’t gone unnoticed. A host of teams across the continent have taken a liking to the 25-year-old wing wizard and deservedly so. After a par-for-course debut campaign in England’s top tier, Mahrez was simply superb for Leicester under Claudio Ranieri. Only Vardy (30) was directly involved in more league goals for the champions than Mahrez (28 - 17 goals, 11 assists), contributing to his fine WhoScored rating. It’s little wonder, therefore, that Arsenal are keen to bring the Algeria star to the capital.
Importantly, though, is that Mahrez would resolve something of a problem area for the north London giants. Comfortable across the attacking third, Mahrez’s best position is on the right flank. Indeed, the right wing has become something of an Achilles heel for Arsenal, from an attacking sense anyway. Wenger started no fewer than six players on the right of his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation in England’s top tier last term, with Joel Campbell making the most starts in the position, with 11.
Ratings wise, Alexis Sanchez (8.27) was the best rated player on the right, but the Chilean is better suited on the left of the attacking three, leaving Wenger with a selection headache. That isn’t to say his options are poor, but rather he needs a more comfortable attacking outlet on this side of the pitch. Mahrez, then, would be the ideal acquisition to further strengthen Arsenal’s attack. Teams often back off Arsenal meaning they need a direct threat to penetrate staunch opposition defences. Indeed, Mahrez completed more dribbles (131) than any other player in the Premier League last season.
Mahrez proved time and time again that he doesn’t run with the ball simply for the sake of it, with the Algerian’s end product of a very high standard. His conversion rate (19.8%) was the fourth best of the 21 players to score 10 or more goals in the Premier League last season. Interestingly, Alexis Sanchez (12.1%) had the worst conversion rate of players using the same parameters. Clearly, Mahrez’s possible arrival would ease the burden on the Chilean attacker, who is often looked to as Arsenal’s best route to goal.
Yet with the pair flanking midfield maestro Mesut Ozil, Arsenal would have both the speed, end product and creative qualities to trouble any defence in the league. Ozil played the most key passes (146), registered the most assists (19) and ranked third for clear-cut chances created (28) in Europe’s top five leagues last season. With the duo maximising their searing pace to get in behind opponents coupled with the German’s ability to pick out passes few others could, Alexis and Mahrez would thrive either side of the playmaker.
The main concern, of course, would be whether Mahrez can carry out the required defensive duties to right-back Hector Bellerin. One of the main reasons Wenger often deploys Aaron Ramsey on the right wing is due to the Welshman’s work off the ball, thus allowing Bellerin to provide the necessary width from deep in order to help stretch opponents. With Ramsey on the wing, the young Spain right-back can attack with less inclination to instantly return to his starting position and is not restricted per se when he does push forward.
Mahrez may have averaged a respectable 1.4 tackles per league game last season, but then that was a big drop from Ramsey’s 2.5 tackles per game from the nine league matches he started on the right flank. The increased protection on the right is something that Wenger is unlikely to sacrifice, unless Arsenal are the dominant side and run very little risk of being caught out defensively. In either case, though, Mahrez’s possible signing would send a strong statement of intent out to their rivals.
Furthermore, his arrival would ease the burden on Alexis, allowing for Wenger to rest the Chilean more often rather than run the risk of fatigue and injury setting in. As Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continue to struggle with form and injury, investment on the flank is somewhat a necessity. If Arsenal can indeed convince Leicester to sell Mahrez, and the player to subsequently move to the Emirates, then the quality of Wenger’s attacking options will improve considerably, perhaps placing them right back in the hunt in the race for silverware.
Should Arsenal be going all out to sign Riyad Mahrez this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
The real question is, why isn't every big club after him?
@What4 Right!? I thought City at least would go instantly after him, but opted Nolito and Sane instead. But it's nice to see not that big clubs don't fight for every big name, like Real and United do for Pogba. Sometimes it's better to wait and see what happens instead of bidding and negotiating the whole summer.
@What4- It's worrying, especially when said player is a player of the year in the Prem/Liga. You always wonder whether everybody believes he is a one-season wonder and indeed whethers that is what he turns out to be. It's always possible, especially with every left back likely defending narrower against him forcing him to do what he isn't comfortable doing- taking people on on his weak side, but I think it's more that people aren't too clued up on him. I think if he stays at Leicester during this window and has a good first half of the season, there will be a number of big teams bidding for his services in January.
Mahrez would be a great signing provided he and Sanchez regularly switch during a game. As it is, Sanchez will cut onto his right foot making the pitch narrow and Mahrez will mirror that on the left. Neither of them regularly look to take players on on their weak foot so the theory of defending against them is fairly simple. Alexis is world class and Mahrez is getting there so theory is one thing and application another of course, but in big games and with Mahrez being given the respect you'd expect a PFA player of the year to be given, we could have a congested 5 behind the striker by way of boxed-in defending. If Alexis and Riyad switch, however, it will stretch and bamboozle any defence therefore allowing Oezil, Cazorla, Xhaka or whoever to exploit the space. We still need a central defender and a top striker. I would rather see those 2 positions filled than buy Mahrez and be left with Giroud & Gabriel. We will not win the title with the latter scenario and every Gooner knows it.
@SteveHyland Well said, Arsenal have some good players who can cover CB but to win the title any team needs consistent defense and I don't see Gabriel, Chambers or Coquelin part of that, only as back ups. Koulibaly would be a good choice but there are many other options if he's not available. But I'm doubting we'll get any top strikers this summer. Morata and Lukaku are very expensive and don't look like leaving. Lacazette would be a nice addition but I'm not sure how he'd fit as a lone striker, we should definitely change our game for that. Mandzukic could leave but I would rather not sign him. Wenger is already speaking of "experienced" forward which means he's probably given up to sign world class striker and is bringing in only a rotation for Giroud. But on the other hand, Mahrez would also take some pressure off from Giroud too. Would that be enough for title? With our best players playing somewhat consistently and without too many injuries, yes, but is that gonna ever happen?
@Castle- Mustafi has been seriously talked about in the media. He's decent but I'm always wary of defenders who look good in La Liga. Otamendi looked great for Valencia. We all know how good he looked for City last season. Lacazette would completely change our way of playing so although I'm a fan of his and his finishing in particular, we ideally need a typical #9- big, strong, holds the ball up, brings others into play and who puts away simple chances. He doesn't need pace, if Giroud scored the simple chances he would be considered world class. Morata will likely stay at Real as you say. Chelsea could very well be in for Lukaku if Diego Costa leaves. Mandzukic is a terrible option I agree so yeah it doesn't leave much. Based on Higuain going for £73m, Lewandowski will cost £85m and Wenger wouldn't pay that even though it could be the difference between winning the title and not.
Draxler would be the better package in theory since he is better in anything Mahrez is capable of. But he lacks consistency and that is something Mahrez was good in last season ...
Arsenal cannot 'afford' to buy Mahrez.
@0708915762- Yeah, can you believe that BS? Gazidis once again proving what a loss he is. I'm all for only paying what a player is worth except in extreme circumstances (and with Higuain going for £73m+, Pogba likely going for £100m+ yet Guendoga only going for £21m, you know the transfer market has gone mental) but we can afford to pay £75m for a player if we wanted to and if Messi became available for that much, we'd buy him in a heartbeat. We are the 5th most valuable football team in the world according to Forbes (behind Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd and Bayern Munich) so if we can't afford to spend that much on a player or players then Man City, Chelsea and Juventus certainly can't. Oh wait a sec.