The second tier of English football isn’t anything like it used to be 5 years, or more, ago. The Championship provides physical and technically gifted competition where anyone truly can, and often does, beat anyone. I believe this goes a long way to explaining why teams do so well in the Premier League after promotion.
There isn’t much difference in terms of ability between teams in the top two tiers and Premier League sides often struggle to make it back up… some have even slipped further down the EFL totem pole due to the intense difficulty of the Championship.
This season there are several gifted talents in the Championship that are turning one or two heads of elite clubs. Here’s three I think would fit in perfectly at Arsenal.
Ben White
Currently on-loan at Leeds United from Brighton, Ben White is a very classy, ball-playing centre back who reads the game very well and has bags of potential. He’s reportedly being scouted by Liverpool, Chelsea, and Spurs at the moment, and you’d have to say he’d make a great addition to any of those teams, but he’d also be a terrific signing for the Gunners.
At 22 years old, he’s at a great age to come in and make an impact right away but he practically has his whole career ahead of him too. He’s brilliant with the ball at his feet and is a key part to Marcelo Bielsa’s ultra-aggressive pressing system at Leeds… a similar system Mikel Arteta is working tirelessly to implement at Arsenal.
The fact the guy is English is a bonus. We haven’t signed an English player since Rob Holding back in 2016, and I imagine he’d get on really well with the English CB’s we already have at the club in Holding and Callum Chambers. He’s more likely to sign for the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, or Spurs… and I’d also have to say Dayot Upamecano would be my first choice CB target but if we’re really struggling to find the ‘next big thing’ in the world of central defenders… Ben White could be that guy!
Kalvin Phillips
There’s a reason this young central defensive midfielder gets dubbed “The Yorkshire Pirlo”… to quote a tweet I read of him recently; “He’s mustard!”. Granit Xhaka has improved massively under Arteta, and is continuing to do so. He’s also a key part to the centre of Arsenal’s midfield alongside Lucas Torreira. Without a doubt, those two are the best central pairing we have in the squad.
However, I do think Kalvin Phillips is a better player than Xhaka. No disrespect to the Swiss midfielder but Phillips is quicker, more athletic, a much better shielder of the back four, and could easily feature as a lone CDM if he needed to. I think Torreira could also give us that option but I just don’t think Xhaka has the dynamism needed to protect the defence as a lone CDM. Add to that, Xhaka looks as if he wants out of Arsenal. After the whole Crystal Palace debacle at the Emirates last year, Xhaka was reportedly working on an escape plan ala Michael and Lincoln out of Prison Break (never seen it but I know it’s about people breaking out of prison).
Although the arrival of Arteta seems to have settled him somewhat and helped him slowly fall back in love with the Gunners, I wouldn’t be surprised if Xhaka left in the summer. I think a lot of damage was done since Crystal Palace at home and it might be best for both parties to go our separate ways. If that is the case then Kalvin Phillips would be the ideal replacement.
Eberechi Eze
Another Arsenal midfielder that appeared to be unsettled but is now showing signs of improvement, commitment, and new-found passion for the shirt; is Mesut Özil. Again, it looked as if the German may have left the club in January, but it seems as if he’s fully committed to this team under Arteta and I wouldn’t be shocked if he stayed here until his contract runs out in 2021 (would you want to leave if you were earning £350k a week?). With that being said, Arsenal should look beyond Özil in the Central Attacking Midfielder position, regardless of him staying or not. Like Upamecano at CB, my first choice CAM signing would be Hakim Ziyech of Ajax but he could easily cost upwards of £40 mil.
Eberechi Eze would cost a lot less than that but is also an absolute baller. A very powerful, silky, and assured playmaker comfortable with using both feet… something we haven’t seen at the club since Santi Cazorla laced his boots for the Arsenal. At only 20 years of age he has bags of potential and could also learn a lot from Özil. If Özil were to stay up until 2021 then having someone like Eze slowly and steadily introduced to the Arsenal first team, learning his trade under the German wizard could be a very astute move.
The Championship Solution
It would be great for Arsenal to look at bringing in players with PL experience, however, that instantly whacks an extra £10+ mil onto their price-tag. That’s not the case down in the Championship, and as I said earlier the quality is on par with the top division. PL stars such as Jack Grealish, Jack Maddison, and Dele Alli all cut their teeth playing down in the Championship and have now gone on, and continue to, achieve great things. Let’s unearth the next Championship diamond before anyone else does.
The Highbury Daze 