If there is one thing that you know about Mikel Arteta by now, it is that the Arsenal boss loves a versatile player. One look at his signings like Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu would tell you that. Even Riccardo Calafiori, their most recent signing falls under the same category.
Arsenal have had a quiet transfer window so far with the exception of the Calafiori signings. Yes, the club is closing in on signing Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad but that isn’t a deal that has gone through yet. It does look like we might see more arrivals at the Emirates between now and the end of the transfer window.
Considering the incredible job that Arteta has done during his time as Arsenal coach, the club has reached a stage where there aren’t many holes to paper over, at least in the first XI. Merino is one signing who could help sort out the midfield. The other position where we might need reinforcement is left-back.
Oleksandr Zincheko is our only natural left-back in the squad. The Ukrainian himself was a midfielder in his initial days. The other players who can do a job in this position include Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu. New signing Calafiori can also fill in at left-back. All this said, the Gunners would do better with a new natural left-back option to Zinchenko. Kieran Tierney is there in the squad but his future lies more outside the club than inside.
Enter, Ferdi Kadioglu?
Kadioglu caught the eye playing for dark horses Turkey in the recently concluded Euros. There were many standout performers during their run to the quarter-finals of the tournament but none caught the eye more than Kadioglu and Guler. Well, everyone knew about the latter due to his Real Madrid history and the former was the real surprise package.
According to Turkish outlet Nutuk, Arsenal have tabled a bid for around €20m for the 24-year-old. Kadioglu is versatile. Predominantly a left-back, the talented youngster can also play as a right-back and even in central midfield. In many ways, he is the perfect understudy to Zinchenko.
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However, if the Gunners want to grow from title challengers to champions, what they need in the squad is variety. The question that Arteta should ask is if Kadioglu is different to Zinchenko. Well, the answer is Yes & No! Kadioglou is more overlapping in nature than his Ukrainian counterpart. However, he might not be as good at providing crosses as Tierney.
Arsenal signing Kadioglou is a signing that feels very much on the fence. There are reasons to be excited about the 24-year-old but there are also reasons to be concerned. Let’s see if the Gunners go ahead and wrap the deal up for the 20-cap Turkish international.
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