Arsenal Transfer News: Rumours on Big-Money Deals Eyed by Arsene Wenger

Arsenal could be set for a flurry of activity in central midfield this summer, with reports suggesting the Gunners will look to sell Jack Wilshere to fund a move for Southampton star Morgan Schneiderlin.

That’s according Rob Shepherd of the MailOnline, who claims Wilshere is a target for Manchester City and that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sees the Frenchman as the perfect player to add some steely defensive attributes to the heart of the Gunners’ midfield.

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Schneiderlin has been in superb form for Saints this season, and as he illustrated recently against Chelsea, he is a magnificently multifaceted player:

While the Frenchman has thrived for Southampton, it’s been a hugely frustrating season for Wilshere. The England international's momentum has been sapped this campaign by a succession of injury problems. Perhaps more worryingly, Arsenal have actually thrived without the Gunners academy graduate in the side.

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Given Arsenal have so many orthodox midfield options, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Wenger did decide to sell Wilshere. Indeed, given his perennial fitness problems and with City likely to offer a sizeable amount, if a bid did come in, you suspect the club would take it very seriously.

Bleacher Report’s Arsenal correspondent James McNicholas took a look at whether selling Wilshere would be a wise move for the Gunners to make:

There is a surfeit of players in this Arsenal squad stylistically comparable to the 23-year-old, but players in the mould of Schneiderlin are scarce. Francis Coquelin has shown what a genuine defensive midfielder can do for this Arsenal side, and while he has fared well, the Southampton man is a class above and would make a huge impact at the Emirates Stadium.

His varied range of passing, ability to surge forward and intelligent positioning would allow the 25-year-old to slot seamlessly into the heart of this technical Gunners team. But it’s his defensive instincts, ferocity in the tackle and ability to sniff out danger that should mean the Frenchman is Arsenal’s top priority when the transfer window opens again.

Gunners in the hunt for Asier Illarramendi

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Real Madrid don’t look to have enough room in their star-studded squad for the talents of Asier Illarramendi, and according to Marca (h/t George Bellshaw of Metro), both Arsenal and Liverpool will move for the midfield star at the end of the campaign.

Since moving to Madrid from Real Sociedad, Illarramendi has found it difficult to make an impression. Indeed, he was expected to be the natural heir to Xabi Alonso in the Spanish capital, but instead of stepping into the shoes of the veteran playmaker, the 25-year-old’s role in the squad has decreased since Alonso left for Bayern Munich.

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As noted by Nicholas Rigg of AS, most of Illarramendi’s appearances now come off the bench with Real looking to shore things up:

For a player as talented as the former Sociedad man, it’s a sad state of affairs. In the season preceding his move to Los Blancos, he was a masterful deep-lying midfielder at Anoeta, showcasing an array of defensive qualities to complement a phenomenal range of passing. They’re the kind of skills that would make Illarremendi a fine fit for the Gunners.

Even in the brief appearances he’s made for Real this season, the midfield man has shown his quality:

Illarramendi will surely be disappointed his move to Real Madrid hasn’t quite worked out, but after Los Blancos signed Lucas Silva in January—another player similar in style to the Spaniard—opportunities don’t look set to come around too regularly for him.

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Arsenal could be a wonderful club to revitalise his toiling career. But after seeing how well a destroyer in the mould of Coquelin has fared in stiffening up central areas of the team, you just wonder whether Wenger will be looking to bring in someone a little more defensively minded than the Spaniard.