5. Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba’s rise to the forefront of world football has been meteoric. Having left Manchester United as a youth, after Alex Ferguson decided to bring back Paul Scholes instead of playing the young Frenchman, Pogba joined Juventus, and has never looked back since. Pogba is one of the most talented midfielders in the modern generation, and can play in a variety of midfield roles, including attacking midfield, box-to-box, or simply a holding role. Having scored 7 goals and racked up 7 assists in Serie A last year, as well as an impressive 7.64 average rating on ‘WhoScored.com’, all at the age of 21, Paul Pogba looks destined for greatness.
With Arsenal now in the market for truly world-class players, the Gunners should target young Pogba as their third marquee signing, joining the impressive likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. What’s more, Arsenal are in dire need of a quality holding midfielder if they are to truly challenge for the Premier League title next season. You may argue that Diaby, Arteta and Flamini can cover this role adequately. However, Diaby’s injury record makes him unreliable, and are Arteta and Flamini really top class holding midfielders? Certainly not to the level of Pogba. Add this to the fact that Pogba is just 21 years old, making him a long-term solution, and his general all-round quality, and it’s a no brainer.
The only question is whether Wenger will fork out the necessary transfer fee, and perhaps even wages. Pogba would cost in the region of £50m, and whilst he has spent a similar transfer fee on Mesut Ozil, spending and even greater fee on a player who is only 21 years old represents something of a gamble. Pogba may also ask for wages in the region of £150k-a-week, and, with the top earners being Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez at £130k-a-week, this may represent problems. However, such a scenario appears to be unlikely, with a more realistic wage package likely to be around the £100k-a-week mark.
All in all, if Wenger is willing to stump up the money, then the capture of Paul Pogba is certainly not one which should be ruled out. You never know – Wenger might just have on more surprise in store.
By Lucas Jones (Twitter: @LucasJones4)