Transfer Centre

How Arsenal could line up with Adrien Rabiot

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 18 May 2020

Amid reports suggesting that Adrien Rabiot is open to joining Arsenal, Sports Mole looks at how the Gunners could line up with the Juventus midfielder in their ranks.

For the second summer in a row, the future of Adrien Rabiot is set to make numerous headlines.

The 25-year-old was one of the most coveted free agents on the market last year, with Juventus eventually winning the race for his signature.

However, his time in Turin has not gone to plan so far, making only 11 Serie A starts for the Italian champions, and he has once again been heavily linked with a transfer when the window reopens.

Manchester United and Everton have been most strongly linked with the Frenchman, but recent reports have suggested that Arsenal could also be interested, and that Rabiot would be open to joining the Gunners.

With that in mind, here Sports Mole looks at how Mikel Arteta could line his side up with the addition of Rabiot.

Arsenal's interest in Rabiot certainly makes sense when it comes to where the Gunners may need to strengthen this summer, with loanee Dani Ceballos looking increasingly likely to return to parent club Real Madrid.

Ceballos had begun to establish himself alongside Granit Xhaka as Arteta's favoured defensive midfield pairing before the coronavirus lockdown, and in theory Rabiot should be able to slot into the same position as a like-for-like change.

The Frenchman is happy to sit back and provide an anchor for those in front of him - as evidenced by the fact that he has not scored or assisted a single goal for Juventus so far - which could enable Arteta to take a few more risks further up the field.

Record signing Nicolas Pepe has not been used alongside other 'luxury' players such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil too often, but Rabiot's discipline behind them could make that a more viable regular option.

Of course, that relies on Aubameyang staying at the club, and another question mark in this imagined XI comes up front, where Eddie Nketiah appeared to have moved above Alexandre Lacazette in the pecking order before football was suspended.

A player like Lacazette is unlikely to accept being second choice for too long, and his future has been cast into further doubt recently due to off-field transgressions.

At the back, David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi seem to be firmly entrenched as Arsenal's first-choice centre-back pairing now, and either side of them Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin are likely to be the top choices in a fully fit squad.

There should still be regular opportunities for Arsenal's many talented youngsters too, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Matteo Guendouzi, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson all pushing for places.