Arsenal are in an identical situation to where they found themselves in the summer of 2022. Mohamed Elneny suffered an injury which led to their chase of a wide player shifting to midfield.
Douglas Luiz was the target and Arsenal had three separate bids rejected on deadline day for the Brazilian. Fast forward five months and the Gunners again have concerns that Elneny is going to be out for an extended period and Mikel Arteta has publicly highlighted his hope that reinforcements are brought in.
"Well, we need some more cover in midfield ideally if we can," he said ahead of the FA Cup clash with Manchester City. "In this market, it’s pretty complicated to do that. The most important thing is that we get the performances and the time on the pitch that we need with the players we have available today that are already really good."
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Luiz has since signed a new deal with Aston Villa and therefore isn’t an option for Arsenal in the winter. Reports suggest instead that Weston McKennie is now on the radar of the club with Italian outlet Repubblica claiming that Arsenal have even submitted a €30million (£26.4million) bid for the American.
McKennie is a very good player with strong technical qualities and progressive characteristics that Arteta is sure to appreciate hence the links. However, positionally there are questions, just like there were with Luiz, as to whether he fulfils what the club are after.
It would be inaccurate to describe McKennie as a defensive midfielder but fair to say he can, if necessary, deputising in a limited capacity. However, Juventus have used McKennie in front of Manuel Locatelli or even in wide areas to provide support to the attack.
The USMNT starter does not necessarily immediately present as an immediate replacement for Mohamed Elneny. This is supported further his place on the international level forming part of a three-man midfield.
Leeds United’s Tyler Adams typically plays at the base of the three with Yunus Musah and McKennie in front. Also, the 24-year-old tends to skew more to the right-hand side in terms of comfortability which is where Martin Odegaard operates in a much more advanced role than the likes of Granit Xhaka on the other side.
Douglas Luiz was often described as a number eight by trade playing in a more restrictive role when deep in the Aston Villa midfield. The question Arsenal need to answer is are they wanting to repeat this with another potential target in McKennie and do they have the faith he can adjust to covering in the potential absence of Thomas Partey because a similar profile in Albert Sambi Lokonga has struggled himself when handed this task?
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