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£12m Frenchman Heading To Arsenal?

By on February 27, 2013

Arsenal will finally fill the void left by Alex Song this summer with boss Arsene Wenger lining up a move for Lyon’s £12m-rated defensive midfielder Maxime Gonalons.

I, like many Gooners, was left gobsmacked when we decided to sell Song to Barcelona for a reported £15m last summer and failed to replace him. Instead, Wenger has asked 30-year-old Mikel Arteta to be our ‘screen’ in front of the back four this campaign.

While it’s worked at times, Arteta’s lack of pace and physicality has been exposed on occasion and he’s not the defensive midfielder we need long-term. However, the Metro are reporting that we’ve now stepped up our interest in Gonalons with Arsene understood to have received several glowing reports on the 23-year-old.

Gonalons is one of the brightest talents in Ligue 1 and scout Gilles Grimandi has been tracking his progress throughout the season, including watching him in both legs against Tottenham in the Europa League as well as Sunday’s 3-1 win over Lorient.

It’s understood Grimandi will be joined by chief scout Steve Rowley in watching the midfielder during the second half of the season ahead of a potential summer move, with Lyon valuing the player at £12m.

The player himself has opened the door to a move to England after confirming he’s a fan of the Premier League as well as the Bundesliga:

‘I like the English and the German leagues,’ said Gonalons.

‘When I see the pitch and that type of game, I feel it’s a dream.’

This sounds like a typical Arsene Wenger signing. He’s french, young, and will cost around £12m – which seems to be our ceiling price when it comes to transfer fees these days. I’ve not seen a lot of this lad but I do know we need a ‘proper’ defensive midfielder for next season, so if Arsene thinks Gonalons is the man for the job, I’d be glad to see him arrive in the summer.

What defensive midfielder would you sign?

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