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Arsenal To Table Formal £16m Bid For ‘Arteta’s Replacement’

By on November 30, 2014

Reports this morning are claiming that Arsenal are set to table a formal £16m offer for Everton midfielder James McCarthy ahead of a potential move this January.

Arsene Wenger is in the market for a midfielder this winter following injuries to Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere and a number of names have been speculated about in the media over the past few days.

However, the Daily Mail claim the boss and his team of scouts have now identified McCarthy as a key target as they feel he will offer the defensive discipline in front of the defence this side has lacked in recent seasons.

The Republic of Ireland international only joined Everton from Wigan last year for £13m but alongside the experienced Gareth Barry, the 24-year-old has excelled and it appears his form has caught Wenger’s eye with the newspaper suggesting we’re ready to open the bidding at £16m.

Everton will certainly be keen to hang on to the player and it’s believed they will reject our opening offer, but the Merseysiders work to an extremely tight budget and we might be able to persuade them to cash-in as the Mail claim Wenger is prepared to go even higher than £16m to get his man.

There’s no doubt we need to bring in a mobile, defensive-minded midfielder to replace Arteta and McCarthy would be an interesting option. He’s got plenty of experience in the Premier League, is an excellent distributor of the ball, is physically strong and is coming to the peak years of his career.

I personally think it will take at least £20m for Everton to even consider selling but if the boss is willing to stretch that far, then we could have solved our holding midfield problem for years to come.

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