Can Lorik Cana Be Arsenal's Sweeping Solution?

(Photo by Dmitry Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images)

A 6 foot, 25-year-old Albanian, weighing in at 121 lbs and dubbed "the new Flamini" seems to have caught the eye of the Premier League's elite. He is the captain and midfield boss of Olympique de Marseille.

Background

The aggressive midfield bully broke into the first team of Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 and quickly established himself as one of their main players who made 32 appearances, scored one goal, won the Coupe de France, and helped them finished second in Ligue 1.

He replicated this performance the next season as well, however, at the beginning of the 2005-2006 campaign the new gaffer of Paris Saint-Germain, Paul Le Guen decided against Lorik being part of his plans at the club.

He left for the league's most successful outfit, namely, Olympique de Marseille and became a regular in no time. He exacted revenge on his former club by scoring the winning goal in the home game against PSG.

He puts in consistent performances and is relatively injury free, playing most of their games. He was crowned captain on Habib Beye's move to Newcastle in 2007. So far he has played over a 100 games for them. He also seems to have plenty of European experience from both the champions league and uefa cup.

Being eligible to play for Switzerland, France, and Albania's national teams, he picked Albania, being true to his heart and was their footballer of the year in 03/04, with a total of 31 appearences and a solitary goal.

Achievements

Apart from being the OM's captain, he has won the Coupe de France thrice, twice with his present and once with his former club. Albania's player of the year in 03/04 and 06/07.

Clubs Interested

1. Liverpool 

He seems to have left an impression with them after scoring in Marseille's defeat (2-1) to Liverpool. With either Alonso or Mascherano (and in an unlikely scenario both) expected to leave for Spain, Rafa may see him as a potential replacement. They were linked with him since April.

2. Tottenham. Spurs are rumoured to be interested in him since the end of last season.

3. So are Everton, but the reports seem to have no form of support

4. Hamburg seems to have made an official bid for the player rumoured to be ranging around 5million euros, which seems to little to be accepted.

5. Finally Arsenal!

Arsenal Connection

Wenger had registered his interest in the defensive midfielder during his three years at PSG (2002-2005) and even asked for trials with the player, which could not happen due to visa issues. Arsenal has been linked with the player again since last season's closure.

Player Description

He picked up seven yellow cards and a red card in all competitions last season, with a single assist, and two goals.

Video evidence (all I could research from was what was available on youtube to base my judgement here) suggests that he is a fan of crunching tackles, is persistent, challenging, hardworking, decent in the air and an out and out physical player.

He is good at breaking up plays, is quick and makes good passes, thus seems capable of keeping possession. However, one shouldn't underestimate his attacking prowess which makes him an overall lethal weapon.

These characteristics seem to make him the right candidate to complete Arsenal's armoury, as he looks like 2007-08's Flamini and more. Many Gooners seem to describe him as "The Flamini on Steroids."

Another previously mentioned and one feature Wenger may be interested in is his ability to stay fit most or even all of the season so far in his career (touch wood).

Player's Situation

He may be valued anywhere between €8-16million, which may even suffice Wenger's transfer budget concerns. Over and above he seems to have a fan in Samir Nasri who rates him highly and his French connection could help him settle with absolute ease in at Arsenal.

In a recent interview he said, "The door remains open for a departure, even with three years remaining on my contract. I will talk with my family and my representatives. It will then depend on what I want to do. Of the possible destinations in the future, England and Germany are the two leagues that attract me the most."

Video Evidence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL_bZAdOKhk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA2CmOherpE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNRtN_G7BNw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8L3n9RS7H4

I hope the information above is sufficient for my fellow gooners to make some sort of judgement. Please feel free to comment and correct me if and where required. Thank you for reading...

Sources

1. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/222/transfer-zone/2009/07/01/1356624/report-arsenal-set-sights-on-marseille-captain-lorik-cana

2. You Tube

3. http://arsenalspot.net/2009/05/video-wengers-new-flamini/

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorik_Cana

5. http://www.ligue1.com/joueur/index.asp?no_joueur=103409&page=carriere

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?