According to Mirror, Arsenal are mulling over a January move for Pablo Fornals. The Villarreal midfielder has been identified as a target by Arsenal’s head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and a move to the Premier League could soon be on the horizon.
It is believed that Fornals has a release clause of £17.8 million, which can be triggered in the upcoming winter transfer window. But will it prove to be a prudent move by the Gunners?
Pablo Fornals: Player profile
Pablo Fornals has been consistently playing at the top level for quite some time now, having made over 100 appearances within the past four seasons in La Liga.
While he was utilized in a deeper role during his previous venture with Malaga, it is at Villarreal, where the 22-year-old has found an offensive edge to his game.
Generally identified as a central midfielder, Fornals loves to go forward and help out his teammates in the final third. But, at the same time, he also remains wary of his defensive duties and tracks back whenever necessary – an ideal characteristic for any attack-minded midfielder.
Much like Shinji Kagawa, he likes to orchestrate things in midfield but instead of recycling possession, his greatest strength lies in picking out key passes in the final third.
Indeed, Fornals has already notched up 19 key passes so far – more than any other player at Villarreal this season.
He can also drift past defenders at ease and an impressive dribbling accuracy of 61% clearly reflects that. In addition, Fornals is quite energetic and on many levels, an ideal central midfielder for Unai Emery.
Should Arsenal pursue Pablo Fornals?
As iterated earlier, Fornals could be a great fit for Arsenal given his characteristics in the centre of the pitch. As a matter of fact, he can be an ideal replacement for Aaron Ramsey, whose future at Arsenal remains under a microscope.
Much like the Welshman, Fornals is blessed with an attacking style of play and is also very energetic, which tunes in well with Emery’s intensive gameplay in the middle of the park.
In addition, his tendency to track back will also provide further support to Arsenal’s double pivot.
Most importantly, however, Fornals’ proficiency in finding key passes will ensure he shares some of the responsibility with Mesut Ozil to provide the creative spark in the final third while the Spaniard is sure to add more variety in Arsenal’s midfield as they look to challenge for the top-four this season.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored