Arsenal are planning a summer move for the substantial talents of Barcelona attacker Arda Turan.
And this comes from highly respected British media outlet, The Times, which writes:
Arsenal are planning a £25 million summer bid for the Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan as they step up plans to reinforce Arsène Wenger’s squad before the probable departures of Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez.
The second part of that statement is particularly worrying. Because it’s difficult to refute the idea that these are Arsenal’s best two players.
While TFF can take or leave Ozil, who never seems to turn up in the biggest games, Sanchez is one of the finest players in world football with his pace, guile, goal scoring prowess and athleticism.
As for Turan, he was one of the most sought after names in European football when he decided to leave Atletico Madrid a year ago.
He chose a move to Barcelona but he was always going to have a fight on his hands to get into such a powerful team and not being eligible to play for the first three months of the season didn’t help his cause.
But, while he has found game time hard to come by at the Camp Nou, he remains a top class player.
At 30 years of age he has played 95 times for Turkey and scored 17 goals.
He’s been on great form for Barcelona this season when he has played with 13 goals in 29 appearances.
Arsenal will need to add some serious creativity to the ranks if they lose their two A-listers and, despite his age, Arsenal fans would quickly warm to the talents of Turan.
Arsenal fans: a top addition or too old?