Max Meyer
This is an interesting one. Meyer became a free agent yesterday, deciding not to stay on with longtime Bundesliga club Schalke. The 22 year old midfielder has apparently included Arsenal on his list of preferred destinations, but there have been rumblings that wage demands could be a sticking point.
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Meyer has certainly shown potential over the years, developing nicely at Schalke and playing at all levels for the German national team, although his recent form was not on par to make the trip to Russia. However, given Germany’s early exit many have questioned the squad selection, though I think there are few that would suggest Meyer should have received the call up.
On a free transfer, any team might see the young German as good value, but there is still the issue of wages and team dynamics around this, as well as where would he would fit into the team? The attacking midfield position is already heavily stocked at the Emirates, but with a new manager it is certainly possible we could see some shuffling of the deck. Unai Emery has Mesut Ozil, Henrik Mikataryan, Aaron Ramsey, and Alex Iwobi all vying for playing time, a major factor leading to Jack Wilshere’s decision to move on. In honesty, I see Meyer slotting in as a Ramsey or Wilshere equivalent, and given Emery’s admiration for Ramsey, it is difficult to see Meyer coming into the squad. Meyer is at a point in his career where he will be looking for a starting role, like Wilshere, and for that reason I can’t see him choosing Arsenal either.
Even if we were to classify Meyer as more of a playmaker, rather than a box to box or defensive mid, Mesut Ozil has just recently signed a new long term extension to his contract. It is in this position however, where Meyer’s only chance of squeeking into the squad lies. Ozil’s contract extension came under Arsene Wenger’s reign, and it is unclear whether Emery favors him. As Arsenal’s biggest star, he has not shown that he can carry the Gunners to a premiere league title (or even the top four) and therefore Emery could look to replace him. Regardless, with Ozil in the latter stages of his career and on a very lucrative salary, it could be very difficult to offload him. In Ozil’s favor though, Meyer does not seem of the pedigree to threaten his position. But both at Arsenal and for the German national team there is no clear heir apparent for the number 10 role and it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that Meyer could excel in the years to come – at which point we could be kicking ourselves for not jumping at the prospect of signing him on a free. But that’s not the scenario I would bet on.
Lucas Vazquez
The rumors around Lucas Vazquez are difficult to take seriously if not for his price tag alone. Although transer markt has him valued at €25m, reports suggest Real Madrid are wanting in the range of €65m for his services. This seems ridiculous as he joined Real Madrid from Espanol in 2015 for a mere £900,000, however this is Real Madrid we are talking about. And with his contract running until 2021 there is no real reason for Madrid to sell on the cheap. Arsenal on the other hand is supposed to have a total summer transfer budget of £50m, making any chance of such a deal coming to fruition exceedingly unlikely.
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Vazquez has received most of his time for the La Liga giants off the bench, and may be looking to move with the hopes of getting more regular game time. Yet with the possibilty of Gareth Bale leaving the Bernabeau it is also possible he will see an opportunity to fight for a starting role in the Spanish capital.
It is undeniable that much of the talent on the Madrid bench is exceptional, but still at 27 one would have expected Vazquez to have made his break into the starting line up by now. I am also not in favour of paying excessively for a Real Madrid squad player, but prefer looking to younger partially established talents from smaller clubs or established stars who can be acquired for a reasonable price. An example would be Thomas Lemar who was recently picked up by Atletico Madrid for a similar fee of around €70m.
This rumour is of interest though, as Arsenal are in desperate need of wide players. Wenger had stockpiled central attacking midfielders before leaving the club, and in trying to get them all on the pitch left vacancies on the wings. This problem remains for Unai Emery to solve, and even though he is said to admire Vazquez, ultimately he is not in Arsenal’s price range and for that reason alone this deal can not materialize. With the transfer kitty nearly exhausted on Leno, Papastathopoulos, and likely Torreira we may be waiting for the next transfer window before we see a solution.
