Arsenal would do well to avoid this 25-year-old Serie A star despite his experience

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Rohan Sengupta

Why Arsenal should avoid signing AC Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu

According to Italian football expert Alessandro Jacobone (h/t Daily Star), Arsenal are interested in signing AC Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.

Calhanoglu, 25, is an experienced player and has made over 100 appearances for AC Milan. He has struggled to cement his place in the AC Milan XI in the ongoing season, however, managing 19 league appearances.

Daily Star adds that the Turkey international is deemed surplus to requirements at San Siro and his agent is looking to engineer a move away this month.

AC Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu in action. (Getty Images)
AC Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu in action. (Getty Images)

Arsenal are currently 10th in the table and while they are 10 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, they are also only seven points away from the relegation zone. That said, they have shown signs of improvement under Mikel Arteta and are unbeaten in their last four league games.

One of the players who has improved the most under Arteta so far is Granit Xhaka. The Switzerland international struggled for form in the first half of the season but he has been fantastic of late, especially in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Xhaka, along with Lucas Torreira, has managed to bring some stability to the Gunners’ midfield. And with Matteo Guendouzi, Joe Willock and Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos in the reserves, signing a central midfielder hardly makes any sense for Arsenal. Thus, the Gunners should avoid signing Hakan Calhanoglu.

Arsenal players celebrate after scoring. (Getty Images)
Arsenal players celebrate after scoring. (Getty Images)

Calhanoglu has not set the world alight since moving to AC Milan in 2017 from Bayer Leverkusen. He has scored 14 goals and created 24 more for Milan thus far, failing to establish himself as a force to reckon with. Even though he is just 25, the Gunners would be better off not signing the Turkey international as they are well-stocked in the midfield department.

Verdict

The North London giants’ priority should be to strengthen their defensive options following the season-ending injury to Calum Chambers, who could be out for up to nine months after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee (h/t Daily Mail). Thus, Arteta would be wise to look for a stop-gap solution to his defensive problems in a bid to climb up the table as the remaining season unfolds.