Arsenal signing this fantastic 24-year-old Italian star would be a brilliant move by Arteta

Why Arsenal should reignite their interest in Lorenzo Pellegrini

Back in August, a report from the Football London had claimed that Arsenal were interested in signing Italian international playmaker Lorenzo Pellegrini from AS Roma. However, a move to North London failed to materialise for the 24-year-old, who ended up staying put at the Italian capital. 

Profile 

Lorenzo Pellegrini spent ten years in the youth ranks of AS Roma between 2005 and 2015 before making his first-team debut for the Giallorossi during the 2014-15 season. A year later, he was sold to fellow Serie A outfit Sassuolo to further his development, with Roma retaining a buy-back clause as a part of the agreement.

The 24-year-old went on to enjoy a productive spell at Sassuolo, registering 11 goals and 8 assists in 54 appearances in two seasons. Roma exercised their buy-back clause to bring the playmaker back to the Stadio Olimpico in 2017. Pellegrini has since blossomed into one of the best young midfielders in Italian football.

Pellegrini has bagged 10 goals and 27 assists in 115 appearances for Roma in all competitions so far, establishing himself as one of the mainstays of the club’s midfield. He has also accumulated 15 caps for Italy at the senior international level, scoring twice in the process.

Pellegrini would help Arsenal cope with life after Ozil

Mikel Arteta made significant strides towards reshaping his midfielder during the summer window. Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira were loaned out to make room for a new defensive midfielder. The Gunners eventually splashed out £45million to bring in Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid as a part of the manager’s rebuilding project.

Mohamed Elneny had been widely tipped for a permanent move away from Arsenal after spending time on loan at Besiktas last season. But the Egyptian has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of Arteta’s midfield overhaul in the summer, with the 28-year-old featuring regularly alongside Partey at the heart of the midfield.

Unlike Elneny, Mesut Ozil has suffered a significant fall from grace in North London this season. The German wizard has been left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad, which pretty much spells an ignominious end to what has been an illustrious career for the playmaker at the Emirates. 

However, Arsenal haven’t really been able to justify Ozil’s exclusion with creativity on the field. Indeed, Arteta’s new-look side have caught the eye with their aesthetic attacking football but the link between midfield and attack has often gone missing.

They have relied heavily on the likes of Aubameyang, Pepe and Lacazette to deliver the goods with minimal creativity from the central areas of the pitch. To put things into perspective, the Gunners are still lacking that creative flair in the middle and reigniting interest in Lorenzo Pellegrini could well be the answer to their woes.

Widely regarded as one of the most gifted Italian players of his generation, Pellegrini has the versatility and the skill set to operate as a deep-lying playmaker, as a box-to-box midfielder and also in a No.10 role. 

Verdict

Arteta’s dynamic approach demands a wide range of qualities from his midfielders. Pellegrini’s versatility would surely add a significant boost to the Spaniard’s long-term plans moving forward. 

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The Italian international boasts an impressive track record of goals and assists, which clearly suggests that he would add more firepower to Arsenal’s midfield. Moreover, he’s a player who excels with his uncompromised work rate, as evident from his heat map this season.

Pellegrini has already started to deliver on his potential in the Serie A and Arsenal making a renewed attempt to bring him to the English capital in January would make a lot of sense in footballing terms.