Quantcast
Home   >   Transfer News   >   Arsenal line-up surprise move for former Spurs star – report

Arsenal line-up surprise move for former Spurs star – report

By on February 17, 2016

According to a report in the Mirror today, Arsene Wenger is read to make a surprise move for former Tottenham midfielder Michael Carrick this summer.

Despite the arrival of Mohamed Elneny in January, the boss is expected to bring in at least one more central midfielder this summer as Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky are all set to leave when their deals expire in June.

We’ve been linked with a whole host of names throughout Europe and while the Mirror maintain that Victor Wanyama remains a priority signing, we’re looking at alternatives due to Southampton’s £25m asking price.

And the newspaper has put forward a somewhat surprising name after claiming that Arsene is ready to try and lure Carrick back to North London and will make his move if the 34-year-old decides to leave Manchester United this summer.

The Mirror state that Wenger was keen on Carrick when he joined Tottenham from West Ham in 2004 and showed his interest again when the midfielder left White Hart Lane for United in 2006 before trying his luck for a third time last summer but once again missed out as he opted to sign a one-year extension at Old Trafford.

However, that deal is now due to expire in June and United are yet to put forward another extension, and it appears Wenger is now ready to offer Carrick a fresh challenge back in London.

So what to make of these reports?

I’m actually a big fan of Carrick and think he’d be a solid replacement for Arteta as he’d offer vast experience and is an excellent distributor of the ball. On a free transfer, I think he’d certainly be worth a punt.

However, much could depend on how Elneny does over the coming months. If the Egyptian settles in well and is showing encouraging signs that he’s got what it takes to succeed at Arsenal, then I say a move for Carrick would make sense as he’d be a short-term solution to fill the squad while Elneny continues to adapt.

However, if our latest recruit struggles during the second half of the season then I think we should go all out for someone like Wanyama in the summer. We need top class competition for Coquelin and if Elneny isn’t up to it, then we need to bring in someone who is.

One Comment