There’s been a lot of talk about Arsenal’s continued interest in signing a centre back. Here I take a look at three defensive midfielders who could potentially cover that role if Wenger uses a 4–2–3–1 or 4–4–2 diamond formation. All three have been linked with transfer rumours to Arsenal during the summer transfer window.
Sami Khedira
Sami Khedira, 27, the German international who plays for Real Madrid in La Liga started his youth career at TV Oeffingen in 1992. Khedira moved to Vfb Stuttgart in 1995 where he eventually signed his first professional footballing contract in January 2007 and scored 14 goals during his 98 appearances. In July 2010 he moved to Real Madrid for an undisposed fee. Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that Khedira no longer wishes to leave Real Madrid. Whether this is true remains to be seen as Khedira is out of contract with them in 2015 there’s still a chance we could nab him next year.
Khedira has earned 76 caps for Germany, of which 51 are for the senior team. He scored the fifth goal in the seventh scored against Brazil in the semi-final of the World Cup.
Khedira’s strength lies in key passes but his tackling is weak. He likes to play short passes and does not dive into tackles. Click below to see an evaluation of Carvalho and Gustavo.