They have already emphatically flexed their muscle in this summer’s transfer window by beating Manchester City to the signature of Declan Rice.
They have also recruited Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz, with David Raya also on the verge of a move to the Emirates Stadium.
The rumours are suggesting their business is not finished and Nicolo Barella has been linked with a move to North London.
What’s the latest on Nicolo Barella to Arsenal?
According to reports in Italy, Inter Milan are prepared for an assault for the midfielder, with Arsenal as one of the interested parties.
Earlier in the window, Newcastle United had been chasing Barella, but they were warded off by Inter’s monstrous £80m valuation. Since then, the high-flying Magpies have signed Sandro Tonali.
Would Nicolo Barella be a good signing for Arsenal?
In the past few years, the Italian, who has been lauded as “top-class” by Jurgen Klopp, has established himself as one of the Neazzurri’s most important and influential assets. During the 2020/21 season, Barella scored three times and created nine assists as Inter was crowned the Serie A Champions.
The following term, he notched the joint-second most assists (12) in the league, whilst also winning the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup.
In the most recent season, the 5 foot 8 livewire registered 19 goal involvements, whilst also starting 12 of the club’s 13 Champions League games, in which they made the unlikely journey to the final.
The 45-cap international has always maintained a reputation for being an accomplished midfielder, renowned for his energy, technique, and tenacity - this is portrayed by his domestic statistics from last campaign in which he managed 85% pass accuracy, averaged 1.6 key passes and 1.4 tackles per game, as well as completing 70% of his dribbles, as per Sofascore.
By channelling his defensive and offensive capabilities, Arteta could unearth the perfect candidate to inherit Granit Xhaka’s mantle.
Last season, the former Borussia Monchengladbach assumed a different role in the team. Instead of operating as part of a two-man pivot in a 4-2-3-1 system, primarily tasked with protecting the defence, orchestrating play from deep, and taking long shots, he was instead awarded the role as a freer, more advanced central midfielder.
The 30-year-old relished this opportunity, recording 14 goal contributions and starting in 36 of the club’s 38 Premier League games. Previously, the Swiss had never managed more than eight domestic goal involvements and his departure to Bayer Leverkusen means he will be sorely missed by sections of the fanbase.
However, if the Gunners somehow landed Barella, it can be argued he is an upgrade on Xhaka, outranking his senior for shot-creating actions per 90 (3.65 vs 3.42), progressive passes per 90 (6.62 vs 6.32), progressive carries per 90 (2.8 vs 1.22), and successful take-ons per 90 (1.2 vs 0.49).
These numbers mean that Barella sits within the best 22% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for the aforementioned statistics and would be phenomenal for Arteta’s revolution.
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