Desperate to return to the top four, Arsene Wenger turns his attention to Spain. According to the Daily Mail (via Goal Transfer Talk), the Arsenal boss is targeting Mario Suarez.
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Per the report, the Atletico Madrid midfielder is expected to leave the club in January.
For Arsenal, no other transfer target is more ideal. A true defensive midfielder, Suarez boasts just nine league appearances for Madrid, but is proven effective in the central part of the pitch.
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With Mathieu Flamini's aging legs (30) struggling for the Gunners, the 27-year-old will be a welcomed addition in London. Defensively, his per 90 metrics are superior to that of his French counterpart in all but one category.
|
Player |
Tackles Won |
Aerials Won |
Clearances |
Errors |
|
Mario Suarez |
2.06 |
2.06 |
2.40 |
0.13 |
|
Mathieu Flamini |
1.97 |
1.38 |
2.42 |
0 |
Offensively, it's more of the same.
|
Player |
Forward Passes |
Key Passes |
Chances Created |
Take-Ons |
|
Mario Suarez |
38.99 |
0.69 |
0.69 |
0.86 |
|
Mathieu Flamini |
36.55 |
0.26 |
0.33 |
0.13 |
Just two months prior, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone heaped praise on Suarez, hoping for development in his game.
"Mario's contribution was not just about the goal," Simeone said following a 2-0 victory over Espanyol (via Tribal Football). "Hopefully, he'll continue along these lines when he's asked to play, which is what everyone's interested in."
Unfortunately for Suarez, he wasn't asked to play enough in 2014. Don't expect that to be the case in 2015, especially if he blesses the pitch in London.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via Squawka).
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