Arsenal Transfer Rumours: Yohan Cabaye Move Wouldn't Be a Gunners Upgrade

Just the latest in a long line of players to have become associated with a move to Arsenal but nothing yet come from it, Yohan Cabaye would appear as close to a North London move as any.

According to Sky Sports, the Frenchman is keen on such a move, too, with Newcastle struggling last season and not appearing to fare much better in their 4-0 drubbing at Manchester City on Monday.

However, for a club of Arsenal’s size and worldwide magnitude, the impetus should always be self-improvement, reaching the next rung on the ladder back to silverware and future success.

In Cabaye, the Gunners have a player who would provide cover and a decent option in midfield, yes, but not the star talent necessary to the club reclaiming its place as one of Europe’s giants.

As things stand, Arsene Wenger can call upon any combination of Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey or Santi Cazorla to fill the central slots. All of those mentioned are playmakers by nature, although Wilshere and even Arteta have displayed more defensively orientated tendencies.

Cabaye is but another of their kind, a player whose priority first and foremost is to create opportunity for those around him, just as he has done since arriving at St. James’ Park from Lille in 2011.

The Frenchman sticks out for the Magpies in that sense, creating 53 scoring chances in 26 appearances for Alan Pardew’s side last season but only boasting a passing accuracy of 80 percent, according to Squawka.

When the manager has a fully fit squad at his disposal, Wenger tends to put his faith in a midfield pairing of Wilshere and Arteta, two of the more rounded assets among his roster, capable of not just the playmaking but the defensive graft, too.

Granted, at 31 years of age, the latter may not be able to maintain the same standards for many more seasons, but at 27, Cabaye wouldn’t be much more of a long-term solution thanks to the shortcomings he has.

Last term, for example, saw the Magpies win just 65 percent of his tackles and commit 39 fouls across the campaign, an average of not much less than two per game.

In short, the more physical aspects of the sport aren’t particularly in the Frenchman’s strong suit, and he would require someone else to accommodate for that, something that some managers are trying to eradicate from their squads.

This is the reason the box-to-box midfielder is making such a comeback in the modern game, athletes who are capable of fulfilling multiple roles, such as Paulinho or Etienne Capoue at Tottenham, garnering more and more admiration.

While Cabaye may link up well with the likes of Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla for the time being, his acquisition would in no way be a substantial step in pushing Arsenal back into the public eye as genuine Champions League contenders, and that just isn’t acceptable for a supposed £20 million fee.