Without question, Yves Bissouma has become one of the most desired transfer targets amongst the Arsenal faithful in the last couple of years. From the ill-fated meme of the Malian international laughing in the background as Unai Emery’s Arsenal missed out on Champions League football to consistently strong performances against the Gunners since then.
Bissouma has remained a fan favourite despite the links gradually diminishing with each window. Arsenal decided in 2020 to sign Thomas Partey and followed that up with the £17.2 million acquisition of Albert Sambi Lokonga in 2021, who is thought to be the long-term replacement for the Ghanaian.
Midfield has again come into focus in 2022 and football.london understands that a central midfielder has been one of the main priorities for Mikel Arteta leading up to the summer window. Bissouma’s awareness of this might have been revealed in a recent spate of Instagram posts.
READ MORE: Arsenal have already secured Thomas Partey's 'replacement' with £17.2m signing despite criticism
Posting to his story comments from Arsenal fans claiming that the Gunners should sign him ‘at all costs.’ What Brighton would have felt about the posts is surely not positive. However, despite what could be interpreted as ‘come and get me’ pleas, Arsenal have already made their decision on their midfielder of choice. According to The Telegraph, Mikel Arteta is pushing for Arsenal to make an opening £25 million bid for Youri Tielemans.
The deal is expected to take some time with negotiations slow but each day brings the Gunners closer to getting their primary target. A target who has been a long-standing one for the club. The Leicester City midfielder has been admired by Arteta for some time with the Gunners exploring the possibility of making a deal happen last January. Tielemans has just the one year left on his contract, hence the relatively low price for a player of his talent.
Tielemans and Bissouma are far from the same player. The Belgian is thought of as much more of an eight than a six. Bissouma does progress the play well but is positioned deeper in the field.
Tielemans has played the majority of the season on the right for Leicester and would offer Martin Odegaard some much-needed competition and cover through rotation and because of possible, or in Arsenal’s case likely, injury. Lokonga is deserving of that chance to cover Partey.
From September to the end of November, when Xhaka was unavailable due to a serious knee injury, Lokonga was by far the best midfielder performing at the club. Xhaka’s return marked an end to his consistent run of games.
It appears many have quickly forgotten this period. Strengthening the group with Tielemans will mean that a combination of two from Partey, Tielemans, Xhaka, Lokonga and Elneny can be used in any of the four competitions Arsenal are due to compete in.
Not to mention the likes of Charlie Patino and Miguel Azeez who are expected to earn more senior minutes next season. Arsenal have plenty of options and the ‘not ready’ tags for Lokonga were certainly not being sung when he was alongside Partey in the early season.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who would you prefer out of Tielemans or Bissouma? Leave a comment to let us know
