Arsenal are said to be interested in signing Andre Gomes, currently on loan at Everton. According to ESPN, the Gunners want to rival Everton to signing Gomes permanently this summer. Gomes still belongs to Barcelona and the Spanish club are likely to be open to selling the player for around £25million.
Whilst Gomes is a quality player, for me he is not the person to replace Aaron Ramsey. Arsenal have enough deep lying midfielders and not enough ball carrying central players with end product. Whilst his physicality would be a helpful addition to the heart of the midfield, his lack of end product (1 goal and 1 assist in the Premier League this season) means he cannot be Ramsey’s replacement.
Former player Ismael Bennacer is also being linked with a move back to the club, and whilst the Algerian also lacks end product, he is still young enough to develop that side of his game and like Ramsey, he is capable of carrying the ball through the middle of the park.
Someone who is very similar to Ramsey is Kerem Demirbay of Hoffenheim. The 25-year-old midfielder is a hard working central midfielder, with an impressive contribution to his teams goals, with 4 goals and 6 assists in the Bundesliga this season.
According to several sources, Arsenal have made contact with Hoffenheim about a transfer this summer and I feel he would be a good fit. Standing at 6ft tall and full of industry, Demirbay would also add some physicality to Arsenal’s midfield. Valued at around £22million and approaching the prime of his career, the German appears a good fit and realistic addition.
If Arsenal have the money, there’s two players which stand out to me as great replacements. Bruno Fernandes of Sporting Lisbon and Houssem Aouar of Lyon.
Firstly Fernandes. The former Udinese man is in demand and it’s easy to see why. His end product is incredible, managing 16 goals and 11 assists in 29 league games this season. That’s an incredible return for a central midfielder, he also plays with good energy, adding defensive contributions and always showing for the ball, averaging 54 passes per game this season. Fernandes is likely to cost in excess of £40million and with so many other areas to strengthen, can the club afford to invest so much in one player?
Then there’s Aouar, the 20-year-old technically gifted central midfielder is wanted by Liverpool but if he’s on the market, Arsenal should be doing everything to sign him. Like Fernandes, Aouar has good end product and the work rate to help defensively. He plays with incredible maturity for such a young player, not afraid of anything, Aouar can turn defence into attack in an instant.