Transfer Link with Newcastle Midfielder Moussa Sissoko Is Wrong Move for Arsenal

Arsenal are reportedly lining up a move for Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko. While he's undoubtedly a talented player, question marks remain over whether he’s what Arsenal really need.

According to John Cross of the Mirror, Arsenal are considering a £16 million bid for the man who has helped propel Alan Pardew’s side into European contention.

He’s been key to the improved form on Tyneside. His greatest strengths are his power and his dribbling ability. Sissoko can resemble a one-man counter-attack, striding from one end of the pitch to the other in the blink of an eye.

Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

Sissoko seems open to the idea of a move to the Gunners, per Cross:

"

I have ambition. My goal is to play at the best clubs, playing the Champions League, win trophies, but today I am a Magpie and I am very happy.

Arsenal were my favourite club when I was young and my idol was Patrick Vieira. I have always loved this club and I still love them.

"

Sissoko's revelation will have given Arsenal encouragement that he could seek to emulate his idol by playing under Arsene Wenger in north London.

However, Vieira and Sissoko are different players. Although the two men share the honour of representing France and a distinctive loping stride, Vieira was principally a defensive player.

That's what Arsenal miss and what they urgently need—someone with the positional nous and discipline to protect the back four.

Sissoko, for all his talents, is not that man. A glance at this graphic from WhoScored.com shows that he's played most of his football as a central attacking midfielder:

Whoscored.com

He's even popped up on the right wing, where he typically plays for France. He can be used as a deep-lying midfielder but rarely looks comfortable there. It was telling that when Pardew withdrew Cheick Tiote against Sunderland and moved Sissoko deeper, Newcastle became vulnerable to counter-attacks and eventually conceded.

Arsenal don't strictly require someone with Sissoko's attacking instincts. They have plenty of players who offer similar sets of attributes. In terms of where he's comfortable playing and his powerful running, he’s comparable with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The arrival of Sissoko would only slow Oxlade-Chamberlain’s development into the central midfielder Wenger still maintains he will become.

Instead, they need to seek out someone who enjoys the uglier side of the game. It won't be easy to find such a player in January, but if Wenger can recruit a true holding midfielder, he will bring stability and balance to his team.

Sissoko would be a luxury purchase at a time when Arsenal need to focus on the necessities.

 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.