Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Arsenal eye shrewd move for cut-price Premier League winger

Arsenal are reportedly looking to sign Bournemouth’s versatile winger Ryan Fraser this summer, with the 25-year-old having just one year remaining on his current contract.

Fraser is an excellent little (5ft 4’) versatile winger, something Unai Emery was hoping Denis Suarez would be, but the Spaniard has struggled to make an impact and now the Gunners are unlikely to activate his £15million optional purchase fee. Instead, Arsenal could turn to Fraser who may be available for a similar amount of money considering his contract situation.

We already know Fraser is more than capable in the Premier League and at 25, he still has room to improve his game and would surely jump at the chance to join Arsenal.

He’s played nearly 150 games for Bournemouth since joining them 6 years ago but his 6 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League this season show how he is ready to take his career to the next step.

And Arsenal would really benefit from someone with a great end product from wide areas like Fraser. Only Eden Hazard (11) has managed more Premier League assists this season, whilst Arsenal’s highest assister of the season is Alexandre Lacazette (7).

Arsenal’s main wide options this season have been Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Iwobi (22) has made significant strides under Emery and certainly looks like he could develop into a top player, but he still lacks end product and in 18 starts and 10 sub apps in the Premier League this season he has managed just 3 goals and 4 assists.

Mkhitaryan has been a little more productive in front of goal with 6 goals and 4 assists in 13 starts and 6 sub appearances. But the Armenian is now 30-years-old, has struggled for consistency this season and is unlikely to improve any time soon.  

This has led to reports that the club will look to offload the versatile midfielder in the summer, in order to free up £180,000 per-week in wages. If the club can find a buyer for him they could easily raise at least £10million in this market.

With Fraser five years younger, likely to demand much lower wages, more clinical in front of goal and seemingly available for a reasonable price this summer, it makes sense for Arsenal to make these moves happen.

But it may not be too easy to lure Fraser to Arsenal, with both Tottenham and Liverpool said to be interested in pouncing to sign the Scottish international. With the lack of quality in wide areas currently at The Emirates, though, the potential to play regularly for Arsenal could prove a deciding factor.

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