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Arsenal could be making a January bid for a Roma midfielder according to reports in Italy, we take a closer look at the story and the player in question and analyse whether or not he’d be a good fit.
TuttoMercatoWeb claim an ‘exclusive’ that Arsenal are targeting 22-year-old Paredes and they suggest that they might make an approach in January for the player.
The 22-year-old has burst onto the scene this season, getting himself in the Roma starting XI and his performances have not gone unnoticed, with Arsenal thought to be one of many clubs interested in signing the uncapped Argentinean.
Paredes started his career at Boca Juniors and after several loan spells and 28 appearances for Boca, joined Roma permanently in 2015. It is only this season where he has truly established himself in the team though and he is excelling in a holding midfield role.
With the signing of Granit Xhaka in the summer and Mohammed Elneny in January, Arsenal don’t particularly need another holding midfielder, but as Arsene Wenger has said many times, he will buy a player based on quality and not on position. Also with Arsenal’s conductor Santi Cazorla now 31, could Wenger be eyeing a younger midfielder to take over?
Now Paredes is not of a similar ilk to Cazorla, but he does have the potential to dictate play from deep, something Cazorla has been shoehorned into in the last few seasons. Paredes stands at nearly 6ft tall and plays almost always with the game in front of him. So far this season he has managed an impressive pass accuracy of over 90% and his strong passing is certainly one of his best attributes, but that is not all he has.
Paredes has started 5 Serie A games and 4 Europa League games this season. During the Europa League games he has averaged over 100 passes per game, highlighting his ability to take control of a game deep in midfield.
It’s also worth noting that he is well known for his set pieces and has scored several free kicks in his short career. Like Xhaka, he is also a sucker for a long shot every now and then - so a Xhaka - Paredes duo would certainly add more to Arsenal’s attacking artillery.
So will Arsenal sign Paredes? At this stage it is far too early to say something like that, but I would not be surprised at all to see him on the radar of Arsenal after his start to the season.
I would expect Paredes to stay at Roma until at least the end of the season, but he’s certainly a player that has the right attributes to play for a club like Arsenal. Should Arsenal need a central midfielder at any point in the near future then you can expect to see Paredes’ name pop up more frequently.
