It seems like only yesterday that the Premier League’s summer silly season saw Arsenal linked with every player in the whole of Europe, and indeed it does look as if that season has returned for its winter tenure.
The next name entering the realm of the Gunners’ rumour mill is West Bromwich Albion’s handy midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu.
Is he good ennouf?
Mulumbu has been an ever-present member of the Albion side which currently sits 12th in the League table, and despite managing just a single assist and no goals in his 13 games, Mulumbu has impressed next to midfield partner Claudio Yacob.
When he signed from Paris Saint-Germain in £175,000 in 2009, Mulumbu was thought of as more of a defensively minded midfielder, an enforcer much like the role that Mathieu Flamini plays at the Emirates now.
However, his Argentine midfield partner Yacob has given him more of a free role:
“It helps that I speak a little bit of Spanish and that’s how we communicate,” said Mulumbu.
“But Yacob is one player you do not need to speak to. He knows the role he can fill.”
“He protects our defence really well and that gives me a little more freedom to play and go forward. In training we work really hard together, every time I play I know where he’s going to be – I know his position.”
This leads on to the role that Mulumbu would play should he choose to join Arsenal in January. Surely there is no more room for yet another midfielder in what has to be the most prosperous position at the club.
Wenger’s 0-10-0 formation…
With the holding midfield role taken by either Flamini or Arteta, and the creative positions filled by the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky or Mesut Ozil, with Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski all eager to fill in in the centre, Mulumbu would be a waste of a kit in North London.
There is simply no more room for another midfielder in Arsene’s side, surely. The influx of talent this season has taken everyone by surprise – and for once it is in the Gunners’ favour.
However the 26-year-old Congo international still has his sights firmly set on a club at a higher level than Steve Clark’s Baggies:
“It’s a family club, I’ve been here five years but I’ve spoken to the manager and board and they’re aware of my ambitions for the future. If I have the opportunity to go to a bigger club, I will. I owe them a lot, but I went to get to a level where I play in the Europa League or Champions League.”
And Mulumbu is already dropping hints at his desired destination:
“I have had approaches from Arsenal,” he said.
“I could leave this winter. This is the right time for me to set my sights higher. I’m ready to join a top-four club.”
“We are not professional enough in the way we manage our games – for example our draw at Chelsea. We are not mature enough.”
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