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Arsenal hoping to wrap-up deal for ‘new Xavi’ – reports

By mac14 on February 10, 2016

According to reports today, Arsenal are keen to beat the likes of AC Milan to the signature of Nice midfielder Vincent Koziello this summer.

Arsene Wenger has been very quiet in recent transfer markets with just two outfield players and one goalkeeper added to the senior squad over the past THREE windows.

However, the newspapers continue to link us with a whole host of players ahead of the summer and the Metro are reporting that Koziello has emerged as a key target.

The 20-year-old has developed in to one of the most promising young midfielders in French football since breaking in to the Nice first team last year and has been compared to Barcelona legend Xavi due to his physique and excellent passing skills.

It appears he’s caught the eye of Arsenal scouts as the newspaper says that Wenger has had his team watch Koziello on several occasions this season and is now ready to make his move.

However, it looks like we’ll have to fight off competition from AC Milan as the Metro say the Italian giants are also showing a keen interest in the youngster ahead of a summer swoop.

Koziello is a specialist central midfielder so Arsene could see him as a long-term replacement for Mikel Arteta, with the Spaniard set to move in to a coaching role when his contract expires in June. Man City are currently favourites at 8/1 to be Arteta’s next club but make sure to use a Ladbrokes promo code to make the most of your money if you do place a bet.

With Flamini and Rosicky also set to leave this summer, we certainly need at least one more midfielder to join the club following the arrival of Mohamed Elneny last month, but we’ll have to wait and see if Koziello is the man we end up getting.

I’m sure most fans would prefer to see the boss bring in a more established name such as Victor Wanyama, William Carvalho or Lars Bender but Wenger isn’t one to be conventional so it wouldn’t surprise me if he opted for another lesser-known player.