Arsenal’s 3 – 5 win at Chelsea this week-end showcased some of their fantastic attacking ability, most obviously with the seemingly omnipotent strike force that is Robin van Persie. His hat-trick took his tally to 28 goals in 27 Premier League games, but reports are suggesting that Wenger is already looking for some extra attacking help, and will make a move for Manchester City’s English midfielder Adam Johnson this January.
This may come as a surprise considering Arsenal’s leaky defence and the clear need for a strong, fit, consistent defender with a decent amount of pace, but Johnson has been on the London clubs radar for a while, and January may just be the best time to make a move.
The 24 year-old has been pushed on to the City bench thanks to their huge squad of world class talent, especially the quite brilliant David Silva, and Johnson usually only plays 25 minute cameos at the end of games. Some papers have reported a “bust-up” between the player and Roberto Mancini over the treatment he has been given, but the reliability of that story is not entirely clear. Nevertheless, the point remains that Arsenal would put the former Middlesbrough man to far better use than City have done or will do as they continue to look for new players with their piles of cash.
Johnson is a very creative player who is versatile with the capabilities of playing on the right and left wing as well as behind the striker. He is very good at taking players on and has a decent delivery as well as a wonderful left foot. City signed him on deadline day in the 2010 winter transfer window for a fee of around £8 million, and the fee that is expected to be able to prise him from the Etihad Stadium is just £4 million more than that at £12 million.
He certainly has bags of talent and still a lot of potential to be realised, so who better than Arsene Wenger to culture that potential into something great just as he has done with a previous £2.5 million signing about 8 years ago in Robin van Persie? Johnson would add that extra bit of accuracy and a much clinical streak to an Arsenal attack which sometimes suffers from wayward/overplayed attacks.
True or not, the murmured rumours certainly seemed to give possible wing competition, Theo Walcott a kick up the backside against Chelsea as he put in a much improved performance including a well worked goal. It will be interesting to see where this one goes come January.
