Arsenal chase £42m “box-crashing” titan who could already replace Merino

Arsenal may be a far better team than they were a few years ago, but as things stand, their season feels like it’s on the precipice of falling apart.

Mikel Arteta’s side may be second in the Premier League but sit six points off leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand. On top of that, they may have just thrown away their chance of winning the League Cup.

The Gunners played host to Newcastle United in the first leg, and despite going 2-0 down early in the second half, the manager didn’t turn to any of his summer signings, including Mikel Merino, who started in the draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on the weekend.

The Spanish international may well turn things around, but so far this season, he has struggled to impress the fans, so recent reports linking the club to another central midfielder this month shouldn’t come as a massive surprise.

Arsenal target former PL star

According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal are one of several teams interested in signing Juventus ace Douglas Luiz this month.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has revealed that Manchester United, Tottenham and Fulham are all keen on the Brazilian star, who joined the Old Lady for £42m in the summer

after years of impressive performances for Aston Villa.

However, the all-action midfielder has found himself out of favour in Turin, and with just 354 minutes played across 13 appearances thus far, the report claims that the North Londoners are keen to bring him back to England on a short-term loan.

It could be a complicated deal to get over the line, especially if other clubs come in with a permanent offer, but given Luiz’s brilliant performances for Villa over the years, it is one worth fighting for, even if it could spell trouble for Merino.

How Luiz compares to Merino

Okay, so while Luiz can play as both the six and eight in a team, the combination of Declan Rice and Thomas Partey already being in the squad and his attacking abilities would almost certainly see him take up the latter role in North London were he to join Arsenal this month.

Therefore, while it might be harsh, he would then be in competition with Merino for a place in the team, a competition many in England would back him to win.

With that said, though, how can we compare them to determine who really would be the ideal starter in that left-eight role for Arteta and Co?

Well, given that neither has played all that much, nor all that well for that matter, this season, the best way to figure this out would be to compare their underlying numbers from last season, as both players were regular starters and vital members of their respective teams.

Unfortunately for the former Real Sociedad star, when we do this, it’s the “box-crashing” Brazilian, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, who comes out on top, and by some margin at that.

For example, the former Villa star emerges victorious in the majority of relevant metrics, including but not limited to expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots, passing accuracy, key passes and passes into the penalty area, shots and goal-creating actions, interceptions and more, all per 90.

On top of having the better underlying numbers, the Rio de Janeiro-born dynamo had a far better rate of return, scoring ten goals and providing ten assists in 53 appearances, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.65 games.

In contrast, the Spaniard scored eight goals and provided five assists in 45 appearances for La Real, which came to a solid but less impressive average of a goal involvement every 3.46 games.

Ultimately, Merino may well come good for Arsenal and help them in their quest to win major silverware in the years to come, but as things stand, he’s struggling to assert himself on this team, and while Luiz is also struggling in Italy, we all know how effective he can be in the Premier League.

Therefore, if the North Londoners have an opportunity to land the Brazilian on a short-term loan this month, then they must take it.