With contract talks dragging along between Arsenal and two of their three world-class players (Hector Bellerin being the other), is it time to cash in on them in this transfer window 18 months before their deals expire? If yes, who should Arsenal target as possible replacements?
Despite claims to the contrary, Arsene Wenger would be wise to capitalize on prices he can get for his two superstars now. If Wenger doesn’t think Arsenal will be able to re-sign Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, rather than let the deals run down and walk away with eighteen months of distractions and no trophies, he should look to sell them, maximize any return he can get and sink the funds from a sale into the next generation of player willing to battle for fourth place every season.
To read more about Five Replacements for Sanchez, please check back in tomorrow.
Arsenal should prioritize Sanchez over Özil, although a like-for-like replacement for the German Number 10 would be harder to find a fit for the tactics Arsenal employ. At 28 and a World Cup winner, Özil likely has three or four years left to give Arsenal or another team the peak of his powers. While some question if he works his hardest every game, there is no denying that he possesses world-class technique passing a football and vision in the attacking zone to make plays happen seemingly out of nowhere.
Özil’s 19 assists last season led the Premier League and far outpaced second-place Christian Eriksen’s 13 for Tottenham and his play was a big reason Arsenal was able to pip Spurs on the last day of the season and continue their twenty-one year St. Totteringham’s Day tradition.
No question that Özil’s particular class and skill set would be difficult to replace (especially if a sale happened this month) but these five potential target replacements who have all been rumored to be on the move this January could be options in this transfer window to try to replace Özil and fill the Number 10 role at Arsenal.