Michael Seri the Next to Join Arsenal?
New Arsenal boss, Unai Emery, has wasted little time in getting to grips with the transfer market at the Premier League club. Having been handed the tough task of following in the shoes of legendary manager, Arsene Wenger, Emery has already made some big decisions. News broke yesterday that Jack Wilshere will leave the club on a free transfer and that followed the capture of German goalkeeper, Bernd Leno and Swiss full-back, Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Emery Fast to Act
However, Emery’s foray into the transfer market has not ended and the Gunners have now been linked with a move for Ivory Coast international, Jean Michael Seri.
The central midfielder currently plays his football for Nice in the French Ligue 1 and was instrumental in guiding the club to the Champions League playoff round in the 2016/17 season. This prompted a great deal of speculation surrounding his future last summer and there were strong reports linking Seri with a move to Barcelona.
One of the reasons cited for the collapse of the move was late interest from Paris Saint-Germain, managed at the time by Emery. The interest shown by PSG reportedly saw an increase in the asking price of the player and the move to the Camp Nou fell through.
Nice did not enjoy the same success in the 2017/18 campaign and Seri did not hit the same heights as during the Champions League qualifying season. However, there is little doubting Seri’s ability, especially as an attacking midfielder.
What Can Seri Offer Arsenal?
Seri has the ability to play long balls with accuracy and mix it up with shorter passing to keep the opposition guessing. He is at his best when moving forward with the ball and breaking through the defence. Seri likes to make an impact with his passing and he was sixth in the list for the number of key passes per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season.
Goal scoring is not his forte and last season Seri scored only 2 goals in 31 Ligue 1 appearances for Nice. This is not good enough for Seri to be considered a goal scoring threat for Arsenal and he may be asked to sit a little deeper than Arsenal’s other attack minded midfielders.
However, there is a question mark over Seri’s desire and ability to defend. He would need another man alongside him in the central area of the team to compensate but his passing range and dribbling ability in midfield could bring a new dimension to Arsenal’s play going forward.
With Wilshere and Santi Cazorla leaving the club, Arsenal are on the lookout for a new central midfielder and Seri could be just the man for the job.