Arsenal offered Merino alternative who’s “one of the best CMs in the world”

While they have been great on the pitch and look as sharp as they did in May, it’s been a somewhat disappointing summer for Arsenal so far this year.

Mikel Arteta’s side will enter this season with the sole objective of ending their two-decade title drought, but as things stand, the club haven’t done enough in the transfer market.

The only addition to the first team thus far has been Riccardo Calafiori, and while it looks like there has been some progress in the pursuit of Mikel Merino, his potential arrival doesn’t feel remotely imminent.

However, recent reports have now touted another central midfielder for a move to the Emirates, and he could prove to be an ideal alternative to the Spaniard or possibly even a signing to go along with him.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Arsenal are one of several top sides who have been offered the chance to sign Marco Verratti this summer.

Alongside the Gunners, the report claims that Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have all been offered the former Paris Saint-Germain superstar just a year after he left the Parisians to join Qatari club Al-Arabi for £39m.

The report does not mention how much the Italian ace might cost potential suitors, but with just a year remaining on his deal, it’s unlikely to be much more than his Transfermarkt valuation of €18m, which converts to around £15m.

It’s certainly a left-field rumour, but given his incredible career and the fact that he’s still just 31 years old, bringing Verratti to the Emirates this summer may be a cost-effective way to add some serious talent and experience to the midfield. He could even be a better alternative to Merino.

How Verratti compares to Merino

So, if Verratti really is a potential alternative to Merino at the moment, how do the pair stack up to one another? Well, when we take a look at their raw output, as even in central midfield, they’d be expected to contribute in attack, it’s not an entirely straightforward comparison.

For example, the Sociedad ace ended last season with eight goals and five assists to his name, while the Italian star ended his season with just eight assists in total, suggesting that the former is more of an attacking threat, right? Not exactly.

The Spaniard racked up his goal involvements in 45 appearances, meaning he averaged one every 3.46 games. At the same time, his competitor produced his assists in just 21 matches, equating to a more impressive average of one every 2.62 games.

However, you also have to consider the leagues in which they play, as while the Qatari top flight is probably more competitive than it used to be, the level of competition isn’t going to be of the same standard as La Liga.

So, with it hard to pick an outright winner from their output, a better way to compare them would be to look at the former PSG ace’s underlying numbers from his final campaign in France and see how they stack up to Merino’s from last year.

Interestingly, when we do this, we can see that the Italian, whom Xavi once dubbed “one of the best midfielders in the world”, comes out on top in practically every single metric, including progressive passes and carries, passing accuracy, passes into the final third and penalty area, key passes, shot and goal-creating actions, and successful take-ons, all per 90.

It’s not just in the attacking metrics that he excels either, as he comes out on top for tackles won, blocks, interceptions and ball recoveries per 90, showing that he is a central midfielder who really can do a bit of everything.

In his defence, the Sociedad star does better in a few areas, such as shots and shots on target, non-penalty expected goals plus assists, clearances, and aerial duels won per 90, but the overall difference in their underlying numbers is stark.

Ultimately, while Merino does look like he’ll be a good addition to Arsenal’s squad this summer, Edu and Co really should look to take up the offer in Verratti. Even if he has slightly regressed in the Middle East, he was a tour de force in Paris, and at 31, there are plenty of years left in him.