Arsenal: It should’ve been Kim and another name, Arsène
Position-wise, the deal done by Arsenal is good but also bad. No Draxler? That’s also both a pity and a blessing for us.
It has been revealed. The player we brought in this January transfer window is not 20 year old, raw talent Julian Draxler. We get Kim Källström instead. A player that is eleven years older than Draxler –whose transfer situation is created by the newspaper rather by Arsène Wenger– according to the Professor himself.
While FC Schalke 04 man promises us a great talent, Draxler is not the player we need at the moment. Besides, I’m still with my opinion that Arsenal needs his national side teammate and the player who plays for his club’s local rival, Marco Reus, more than him. However, in the January transfer window where the option is limited and the competition is stiff, the former Lyon man is that good of a deal in my opinion. He, in some ways, will help us cope with the February madness.
Playing the deeper role than number ten but more advanced than the holding midfielder, it is clear that Wenger landed him in order to solve the problem we’re facing in the box-to-box midfielder slot. At the moment we practically only have Tomas Rosicky while Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere are still struggling with their injuries, with the latter hopefully can make it to the Liverpool game.
Källström played his last competitive match almost two months ago, in a narrow win against FK Rostov in Russian Premier League where he only played the last eight minutes of the game. Beyond his golden age and only played 715 minutes in total this season, he certainly needs time to adjust with the English Premier League match fitness.
Let’s say that he’s ready to play in two weeks time. That means the Swedish international will not take part when we face Crystal Palace, Liverpool, and Manchester United. Ideally, the Boss will hand him his debut in the FA Cup against Liverpool. The decision that will allow Rosicky and Wilshere to catch some breath before Bayern München come to town.
My silly mind tells me that the fact that Källström is more left-footed is another reason why Wenger decided to bring him in. Sharing the same point of view with Mesut Özil, Wilshere, Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and both-footed Spanish dazzler Santi Cazorla, Källström will find it easier to blend with the Arsenal attack force.
As crazy as February madness is, he’s not coming to the red side of North London to play for one B-class match. So where is his position in March and beyond?
If Arsenal don’t make it to the next round of both the FA Cup and Champions League, the fixture won’t be so tight that Wenger will need Källström to step in to give Ramsey, Rosicky, and Wilshere some time to rest.
Even if they did advance way further and face another crazy fixture, Källström will find it hard to take part with Ramsey, Rosicky, and Wilshere all fit for the match. The furthest he can go, if Wenger decides to put his trust in him to play in Premier League, is the home match against Swansea City before Arsenal take a flight to München to play the second leg.
It is safe to say that Källström is a panic buy and a real short term solution to the problem Arsenal currently having at the minute. Only time will tell whether this is a good deal or another Wenger flop.
Until the truth is revealed, I choose to put my faith in whatever Wenger does for Arsenal. In Arsène I trust.
One thing still bothers me, though: Why didn’t Wenger add another central defender to the team?
Written by Taufiq Nurshiddiq
Follow Taufiq on Twitter @nurshiddiq
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