Imagining How Arsenal Would Best Use Transfer Target Ilkay Gundogan

It's no secret that Arsenal lack depth in midfield and defense, and it would be criminal for Arsene Wenger to leave both areas unaddressed this transfer window.

The manager's comments make it seem like he is more likely to reinforce his midfield, which has lacked Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta for significant portions of the season. Mesut Ozil just returned after missing several months.

Via The Guardian:

"

If you look at the number of games some players played and the injuries we have with Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta, we are a bit short at the moment in midfield.

There is a need there [to enter the market] but the right opportunity has to come up. To buy, simply to buy, is not what we want to do but if the right opportunity comes up, we will do it.

"

How typically Wengerian. However, Arsenal fans will no doubt be encouraged by the boss' statement that he is at least looking.

It's a start.

One player frequently rumored to be on Arsenal's radar is Borussia Dortmund's Ilkay Gundogan.

In the last week, both John Cross of the Daily Mirror and Simon Rice of The Independent have reported that Wenger is interested in a roughly £16 million move.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

The German is no doubt an exceptionally talented individual. A dynamic central midfielder, he is a Sami Khedira-eqsue player in that he is attack-minded but often sits in front of the defense in a protective role.

Like Mesut Ozil, Gundogan is not particularly fast and will not zip past Premier League players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can. He relies on guile, composure and confidence in his remarkable technical skill.

The Ozil comparison might worry some Arsenal fans, who remain unconvinced by the £42.5 million man's performances so far. However, Gundogan is not as physically diminutive as his compatriot, making him more suited to the nasty challenges in which central midfielders engage.

With that being said, it is not obvious that he is a defensive midfielder.

That's what Arsenal need at the moment—a physical enforcer with enough skill on the ball to not hamper the rest of the team, with the discipline to remain in position so that the side's fragile defense is not eviscerated on counterattacks.

Mathieu Flamini is not particularly great at either, and the team's performances have clearly suffered as a result. Arteta has not proven that he can remain healthy this season and seems to be slowing down more and more every year.

Alex Grimm/Getty Images

He is a metronome who can tackle, but Arsenal need a tackler who can distribute, if only to offer some tactical variation.

That is the role in which Gundogan will have to play if he signs for Arsenal. The Gunners have almost always played with one defensive midfielder this season, so he will have to bear the burden of gluing defense and attack by himself.

Those who are able to do so consistently are frequently shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or. See Yaya Toure, Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Andrea Pirlo and Sergio Busquets.

Gundogan is certainly not as good as these titans, but he at least does have experience playing as a defensive midfielder in Dortmund's 4-2-3-1 formation.

Obviously, he will have to adapt to playing without another defensive midfielder beside him—a more difficult task than it sounds, considering the vast amount of ground he'll have to traverse without anyone covering for him.

It is also not obvious that Gundogan has the speed to recover from his mistakes and make up lost ground. This, too, is obscured by Dortmund's more forgiving formation.

Yet Gundogan will have a template and a teacher if he transfers to Arsenal in the club's own captain. Arteta, too, was a bona fide central midfielder who looked forward more often than he tracked back before arriving at the club.

Despite the Spaniard's inability to maintain his speed as he approached 30, Wenger transitioned him to the role of a possession-focused defensive midfielder. The manager's unwillingness to drop him from the starting XI when fit indicates his enormous importance.

As long as Wenger is confident that Gundogan can make the same switch, Arsenal are justified in pursuing him.

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