Arsenal should use Alexis Sanchez to buy Paul Pogba

If Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez really wants a return to Italy, why not use him as a makeweight to secure Paul Pogba from Juventus?

As an unabashed Tottenham supporter, I find myself sick at even the thought of Paul Pogba heading to Arsenal. However, that’s just the move the Gunners should be trying to make at the moment.

Right now, the race for Pogba is allegedly a contest between just Manchester United and Real Madrid. That makes sense given the small number of clubs that can afford a transfer fee that could easily exceed 100 million pounds. At that price, not even a club the size of Arsenal could really entertain the notion of moving for the midfield star.

However, Arsenal have an asset on their squad that might be of significant interest to Juventus. Rumors persist that Alexis Sanchez is highly interested in a move to Italy this summer. If he’s unhappy in North London, Arsenal should consider offering him to Juventus.

They shouldn’t offer Alexis for sale to The Old Lady though. Instead, they should offer to include him in a player plus cash deal for Pogba. The Gunners could easily value Alexis somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 million pounds. That would put a serious dent in the amount of cash they’d need to come up with to bring in Pogba.

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It’s not a proposition without serious cost and risk for Arsene Wenger’s club. The most obvious issue, is that 60 million pounds is still a giant amount of money to spend in the transfer market. That sort of cash outlay might limit what Wenger is able to spend to fill other holes in the squad.

More importantly, this proposed deal would cost Arsenal one of their top attacking talents. Gunner fans haven’t always been enamored with Alexis’ output for the club, but there’s no doubt that he’s one of the most feared attackers in the Premier League. His departure would be a serious blow to the Arsenal attack.

While the deal isn’t without cost, the upside of it is pretty tremendous as well. If they could swing it, Wenger would be acquiring one of the world’s top young football talents. Pogba would immediately transfer the Gunners’ midfield from a weakness into a towering strength.

Acquiring players of Pogba’s caliber and age don’t come around often for a reason. He’s the sort of player that you can build your squad around for a decade.

Arsene Wenger needs to make a serious run at bringing Paul Pogba to North London. It would cost the Gunners a lot, but the benefits could be enormous.