Arsenal Transfer News: William Carvalho Interest Ends Arturo Vidal Rumours

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sees Sporting Club’s William Carvalho as the club’s solution to their defensive-midfield woes, not Juventus’ Arturo Vidal, according to reports.

Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard wrote categorically that “Chile international Arturo Vidal will not be moving to Arsenal,” but the Gunners do retain an interest in the Portuguese international midfielder, who has long been mentioned in conjunction with the Gunners (per Wayne Veysey of Goal.com). Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph also wrote that Arsenal have “ended their interest” in Vidal.

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The prospect of Carvalho, who has been mightily impressive at the ongoing European U21 Championships, is an intriguing one. Here’s a look at how he’s fared statistically in the competition in direct comparison with Liverpool and Germany’s Emre Can:

His rounded displays in the Czech Republic come after a strong finish to the season for Sporting. Carvalho's future with Sporting Club has been speculated on for the last few transfer windows. After the winter break, when he could concentrate on football, we were witness to a more settled player than had been seen earlier in the season.

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As noted here by football writer Seb Stafford-Bloor, the effects of this renewed focus have been obvious as of late:

Indeed, Carvalho has a vast skill set. He’s been portrayed in the press purely as a destroyer of a midfield player, who marshals the team and bustles opponents off the ball with his imposing build. But as is evident by the aforementioned statistics, there is a lot more to the 23-year-old’s game than defensive traits.

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His ability on the ball, in particular, is something that would enamour Carvalho to Wenger, as we can see here courtesy of the UEFA Under-21 Twitter account:

These proficient passing skills, not to mention Carvalho’s willingness to carry the ball forward and break opposition lines, would give Arsenal an overdue presence at the base of their midfield. Admittedly, Francis Coquelin is a player that came into this role and performed with merit toward the back end of last season, but the Portuguese is a class above.

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Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe thinks the Sporting man would be a major asset to any Premier League team next season:

He seems a better fit for what Arsenal currently need, too. While Carvalho is not just a defensive influence, as aforementioned, he is more comfortable operating in a withdrawn midfielder role than someone like Vidal. The Juventus man is a world-class talent, but he’s a much more orthodox, box-to-box type midfielder.

What Wenger needs in this role is a player who possesses instincts that are primarily defensive and Carvalho seems an ideal fit. At 23 years old, the Sporting star may feel as though a new challenge is in order and the prospect of heading to the Emirates and enriching this Arsenal midfield would surely pose a proposition too enticing to turn down.