Building a Mikel Arteta Midfield: Who Stays, Comes and Leaves Arsenal?

Midfield organization has been key since Mikel Arteta has taken over; the process continues this season.

But who will be a part of this midfield? Who will connect the back line and the forward play together? Arsenal have got Dani Ceballos back for another season, which is of course a wonderful innovation. Other players, both inside and outside the club, remain less clearly defined relative to the club’s future.

For the Gunners to function at optimal efficiency, they will need their engine roaring; who will power Arsenal for this campaign and beyond? With one game (and a win) under their belts, changes still need to be made.

Mikel Arteta: A Man With a Vision

As I’ve said before, Arteta is very much the sum of all of his parts. He is Arsène Wenger as much as he is Pep Guardiola; he may even be a bit like Marcelo Bielsa. But ultimately, what he wishes for is a fluidity, a poetry with the ball from back to front. Is he capable of bringing a team capable of compressing the pitch against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea? Absolutely, but he’d prefer something more akin to positive, attacking football.

For that, midfielders like Dani Ceballos are key. Young starlets like Buyako Saka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be remaining obviously, no matter what past reports may have indicated on the latter. Then we turn our attention elsewhere.

I’d say Granit Xhaka would leave, except that Mikel Arteta values his natural leadership capacity; even with the mark left from late in the Unai Emery campaign, his vigorous competitiveness and communication have a place at Arsenal moving forward.

Mohamed Elneny might be another, albeit more surprising candidate, to actually remain at Arsenal this year. His play in the pre-season has been a breath of fresh air from the Wenger era midfielder. His tenacity and low wages could keep him in north London, seeing action in FA Cup and Carabao Cup tournaments, and so on.

Other names that we can expect to see remain are those of Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock. Arteta is interested in growing all of the youth Arsenal can bring him. It is much easier, to paraphrase Frederick Douglass, to grow the youth properly than to fix those older souls.

But then here, we come to where some may leave Arsenal, while others come for the ever evolving Arteta revolution.

Outgoing: Part One of An Arsenal Midfield Story

Lucas Torreira has proven surplus as a defensive midfielder, where once Gooners chanted his name into the song formerly saved for Patrick Vieira. Mesut Ozil – left out of the squad entirely for the Fulham win -has been told numerous times that he has no future with Arsenal, and yet he remains, heels dug in, attempting to create some possibility where none continues to remain.

Matteo Guendouzi – also left out of the squad to face Fulham – has no future with Arsenal. This is not because of his talent, but his attitude and work rate. He has proven petulant and unwilling to get with the new program after being coddled by Emery, who found and coveted him from the French second league upon his Arsenal hiring.

So, what to do with them all? Torreria looks set for a spell back in Italy, likely as part of a swap deal with either Roma or Milan. While this could prove ideal if it nets Arsenal a midfielder they desire, it could prove burdensome if the midfielder they actually want plays for another team that would rather the funds than the talent.

The same goes for Matteo Guendouzi. Reports largely speak about Guendouzi as part of a swap to places like PSG, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, but Arteta would likely rather the funds than many of the players reportedly offered by the numerous sides.

Meanwhile, the Ozil recourse is nearly nonexistent. Unless he decides to take wage reductions to leave for a Turkish team or a secret wild card, he will likely remain used lightly, if ever, in north London. His wages burden the team and yet, the Gunners will have to either use him or take the loss while trying to improve nonetheless.

And so, who could end up coming, should at least two of these players be sold? There are good options.

Incoming: Part Two of An Arsenal Story?

Reports have long held that Thomas Partey is the most desired defensive minded midfielder for Arsenal. He is quite confident offensively as well and could provide a real talent bridging the backers and midfield effortlessly. I would imagine that his acquisition will happen even if the sales of the aforementioned Gunners take longer to materialize. Arteta has earned himself some talent and some money for the club.

But then it becomes a bit tricky. Houssem Aouar of Lyon would be a wonderful fit, but his price seems prohibitive for Arsenal currently. Amadou Diawara, Franck Kessié or Julian Draxler could also be in play if Arsenal can figure out the Torreria or Guendouzi situation. Philippe Coutinho will not be a Gunner, that much is clear. Who will actually join?

I believe that, despite the price, much like last year with the Pepe transfer, Arsenal will find the money for Aouar of Lyon, no matter the posturing. Meanwhile, I think that the sales of select midfielders, as well as potentially Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi and/or even Emi Martinez can help to broker the Partey deal before someone else swoops in for it.

What this will leave Arsenal with are real quality options, both offensively and defensively. In Aouar’s particular case, he could very well be a number ten option in north London. This would be a wonderful innovation and one that would put the Arteta revolution on even firmer footing.

Partey on the other hand, could anchor the back for years, becoming more similar to Fernandinho in his later years. He is a marvel athletically as well as intellectually and so would provide great utility in London as he has in Madrid. Diego Simeone can attest surely.

Meanwhile, Ceballos can continue his growth alongside the two, rotating with Xhaka. These two will provide balanced play and an understanding of the boss that newcomers won’t immediately have. It is quite lucky for Arteta to be able to lean on both.

With this accomplished, Arsenal will not be done revitalizing, but only truly starting. It will be up to those players to put in the effort, to congeal with the rest of the club and players, but they’re capable of doing so. Arteta has laid out a very honest, straightforward and ambitious program, one that is attracting attention – who wouldn’t want to come and work for that? The revolution continues!