da betsson： It hasn’t even been a year since Arsenal loosened their purse strings to poach Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria in a £26m move (via Sky Sports). However, the talk is now that the Uruguayan could again be on the move, as according to Gazzetta dello Sport, AC Milan are eyeing the midfielder and have offered both Ricardo Rodriguez and Franck Kessie as part of a potential swap deal.
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AC Milan could reunite him with his former boss, Marco Giampaolo, who, like Torreira, left Sampdoria for a new home when he took the Milan job (Marca). However, prising the player from The Emirates won’t be easy, and to try and sweeten the deal the San Siro club have offered both Ricardo Rodriguez and Franck Kessie, as stated above.
If Arsenal were to accept this offer, perhaps it would be understandable given what the Gunners would be gaining from it. In Franck Kessie, they’d have a player who recorded more completed passes, blocks and dispossessed more players in the Serie A than Torreira did in the Premier League this past season (as per Squawka’s Comparison Matrix). He also won 20 out of 29 tackles which gives him a better tackle success rate than the Uruguayan who recorded 29 tackles from 50 attempts (stats via Squawka’s Comparison Matrix).
Last season the Ivorian scored seven goals and registered three assists in Serie A, so he can influence the game in the final third as well.
But, the real praise for the midfielder came in January 2018.
After scoring in a 2-1 over Cagliari, then Milan manager and club legend Gennaro Gattuso lauded Kessie, claiming that the midfielder is far better than he ever was as a player. You can read those comments on Football-Italia, and surely it’s worth bringing him to the Emirates if he’s supposedly better than Gattuso, a player who finds himself in AC Milan’s Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Ruud Gullit.
The other part of the swap deal would see a completely different player rock up in north London, Ricardo Rodriguez. The Swiss full-back would be a good option at The Emirates, and when compared to the club’s current left-backs Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, he fares very well.
According to the WhoScored player comparison tool, Rodriguez averages more crosses, tackles and shots than the Arsenal pairing per game, which will no doubt benefit Arsenal’s current system as Unai Emery spoke about how he likes to use wing-backs (as per Arsenal). “They can offer a surprise with an attacking moment”.
The fact that he’s shown to be dependable could be key for Rodriguez at Arsenal too as he didn’t miss a single game due to injury last season (as per Transfermarkt), something Emery could do with. Monreal is now 33-years-old and missed 12 games with a hamstring injury during the 2018-19 season (as per Transfermarkt) whilst Kolasinac missed seven games with a knee problem.
Considering all that’s been stated above, it looks like the Kessie, Rodriguez – Torreira swap deal is something that the Gunners should perhaps consider.
Arsenal fans, what do you think of this proposed swap deal? Let us know!