Mikel Arteta has some issues to solve this summer.placeholder image
Mikel Arteta has some issues to solve this summer. | AFP via Getty Images
Arsenal have an underappreciated issue to deal with in the summer transfer window - could a West Ham player be the answer?
While Arsenal remain on track to win the Premier League title – just about – there’s little doubt that there is room for improvement, and the club are likely to be relatively busy in the summer transfer window even if they do break a 20-year-plus duck and emerge from the season as champions.
Some of the problems are relatively self-evident. Viktor Gyökeres has not yet proven himself to be the long-term answer up front, while the left wing has become an area of undeniable weakness. Those issues will surely be addressed. But there’s at least one problem within the squad which needs to be looked at more closely…
Why central midfield has become something of a problem for Arsenal
There is little reason for Arsenal to be unduly concerned by their starting midfield duo: Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi are superb players, ideally suited to Mikel Arteta’s double pivot, and equally strong on and off the ball. Few teams in Europe have such a strong central pairing.
Behind them, however, there is something of a void. Mikel Merino is arguably more effective in advanced areas where he can impact the final third and make his presence felt around the box, and the only other player on the books who fits the bill is Christian Nørgaard, who hasn’t been trusted to start a single Premier League match.
When Rice and Zubimendi are available, that isn’t really a problem at all, but the demands of a heaving schedule mean that a rotational option is really a necessity – and if Merino is to spend more time in and advanced area, as he likely should to get the best out of him, then a fresh body is perhaps a necessity this summer.
Arsenal seem to have reached a similar conclusion, and have been linked with a host of midfielders who offer plenty but also come with downsides. Leon Goretzka is available on a free transfer but is also getting long in the tooth and seldom gets a full 90 minutes from Bayern Munich these days. Sandro Tonali is seemingly committed to Newcastle and is liable to be immensely expensive even if he isn’t. Kees Smit is a rising star but isn’t as strong defensively as he is with the ball at his feet and is also being chased by just about every elite team in Europe.
A younger player who is able to contribute straight away whilst also providing a long-term solution seems like the ideal target, especially if they don’t cost so much that they make it harder to splash out on necessary attacking reinforcements – and one talented player in the Premier League right now could perhaps fit the bill perfectly.
The £42m West Ham star who could be precisely what Arsenal need this summer
It may seem backwards for Arsenal to look towards the relegation zone for a player who can help them win titles, and even more so for them to look at a player who be about to go down for the second consecutive season. But West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes has stood tall even as his team-mates have struggled around him.
Comfortably Southampton’s most impressive player during their dreadful 2024/25 season, West Ham spent £42m on the 20-year-old Portuguese midfielder over the summer and got one of the best deals of the year. Fernandes has proven himself, again, to be a player who shines even when everything around him goes to pieces.
A true box-to-box midfielder who has a significant impact at both ends of the pitch, Fernandes is tenacious and destructive off the ball, judges his tackles superbly and generates an enormous number of turnovers – his raw statistical output is remarkably similar to Rice’s this season.
Going forward, meanwhile, he is both a fine ball-carrier and a clever, economical passer who is both creator and engine room in one package. He has three goals and three assists in the league for a struggling team, only one fewer of each than Rice – despite not being a primary set piece taker. Fernandes leads West Ham in tackles per game, and yet is behind only Jarrod Bowen for goal contributions. There’s a reason he recently broke the record for most consecutive weeks on top of 3 Added Minutes’ Wonderkid Power Rankings.
His intelligent decision making despite his young age stands out, in particular. Fernandes seldom misses a chance to surge into space when it’s offered by the opposing defence, but equally knows when to avoid a risk and to play a simple pass to a team-mate. It’s rare that he concedes possession cheaply, and he often makes up for it quickly when he does lose the ball. To cap it all off, he is extraordinarily consistent, and arguably hasn’t had anything close to a bad game since early autumn.
At 20 years old, Fernandes is a player who has proven himself to be impactful in defence and attack in the Premier League already but who also has room to grow even further – a rare combination. A top team should surely have signed him after his season with Southampton. It’s not an opportunity that should be missed twice.
If West Ham survive, his price will naturally shoot up and that could bring other, cheaper players into consideration – but if the Hammers do indeed go down, they will likely be happy enough to get their money back. Anything less than £50m for a player as assured and well-rounded as Fernandes would be a bargain. Someone has to work that out eventually.
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