Arsenal are chasing a £42m box-crashing titan who could already replace Merino

Arsenal perhaps a far better team than they were a few years ago, but as things stand, their season seems to be on the verge of falling apart.

Mikel Arteta side can be the other u Premier League but he is sitting six points from leaders Liverpoolwho have a game in hand. On top of that, they may have just thrown away their chance to win League Cup.

The Gunners played Newcastle United in the first leg and despite going 2-0 down early in the second half, the manager did not turn to any of his summer signings, including Mikel Merinowho started in the draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.

The Spain international could turn things around but has struggled to impress fans so far this season, so recent reports linking the club with another central midfielder this month shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Arsenal target former PL star

According to a recent report from SpainArsenal is one of several teams interested in signing the Juventus ace Douglas Luiz this month.

Apart from the Gunners, the report revealed that Manchester United, Tottenham and Fulham are all interested in the Brazilian star, who has joined The Old Lady for £42 million in the summer after years of impressive performances for Aston Villa.

However, this midfielder found himself out of favor in Turin, and that with only 354 minutes played in 13 appearances so far, the report claims the north Londoners are keen to bring him back to England on a short-term loan.

It could be a complicated job to cross the line, especially if other clubs come in with a steady offer, but given Luiz’s brilliant performances for Villa over the years, it’s worth fighting for, even if it could spell trouble for Merino.

How Luiz compares to Merina

Well, while Luiz can play as either a number six or eight in the team, the combination of Declan Rice and Thomas Partey already in the team and his attacking abilities would almost certainly see him take on a second role in north London if he were to join Arsenal this summer. month.

So, although it might be difficult, he would then be in competition with Merino for a place in the team, a competition that many in England would be backing him to win.

However, with that said, how can we compare them to determine who would really be the ideal starter in that left eight role for Arteta and Co?

Well, with neither of them playing that much, or that well, for that matter, this season, the best way to figure that out would be to compare their underlying numbers from last season, since both players were regulars starters and vital members to their teams.

Unfortunately for the former Real Sociedad star, when we do this, it’s the Brazilian who “breaks the box”, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinsonwhich is the first, and by a certain margin.

For example, the former Villa star comes out on top in most relevant metrics, including but not limited to expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots, passing accuracy, key passes and passes into the box, shots and actions that create goal, interceptions and more, all 90.

On top of having better underlying numbers, the Rio de Janeiro-born Dinamo had a far better return rate, scoring ten goals and ten assists in 53 appearances, which equates to a share of goals on average every 2.65 games.

In contrast, the Spaniard scored eight goals and five assists in 45 appearances for La Real, he came up with a solid but less impressive average of a goal share every 3.46 games.

Ultimately, Merino could be good for Arsenal and help them in their quest for major silverware for years to come, but as things stand, he struggles to establish himself in this team, and while Luiz is also struggling in Italy, everyone we know how effective he can be in the Premier League.

So if the North Londoners have the chance to land the Brazilian on a short-term loan this month, then they must take it.