Agent now heading to London to see the offer Arsenal have brought to table, Arteta have been given green light to forge ahead with a bid for prodigious $30m midfielder
Arsenal have been given the green light to forge ahead with a bid for prodigious midfielder Xavi Simons following Paris Saint-Germain’s withdrawal from consideration.
What’s the latest on Xavi Simons to Arsenal?
That’s according to L’Equipe – via Get Football News France – who claim that the Dutchman is against a return to Ligue 1 after joining PSV from the French champions last summer.
The report claims that Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are among the clubs looking to ‘capitalise’ on the situation, but that Simons is seeking assurances over the regularity of his match action after such stellar work in his homeland this season.
According to Fabrizio Romano, there is a €6m (£5m) buy-back clause for PSG in the dynamic midfielder’s contract, with Arsenal joined in their interest by Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
Clubs outside of PSG may well be expected to pay in the region of £30m; his expected transfer value, as per FootballTransfers. It would mark another huge statement of intent from a club desperate to improve their midfield options ahead of next season.
Indeed, only last night, the club submitted a record-breaking £100m bid + £5m in add-ons for Declan Rice.
How good is Xavi Simons?
At surface level, Simons is a prolific No. 10 approaching prominence on the major European stage; dig a little deeper, and this enigmatic midfielder is one of the most dynamic and nuanced in the game.
Still only 20-years-old, Simons turned his back on PSG one year ago and unleashed his skills on the Eredivisie with the Boeren, plundering 22 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, including 28 direct contributions from 34 matches in the league.
There’s an argument that considering his diminutive stature, fleet-footed gait and versatility across the central third, Simons could be the natural successor to Santi Cazorla’s former position in the Gunners team, with the elegant Spaniard forging 180 displays for Arsenal, scoring 29 goals and providing 45 assists.
As per Sqwuaka’s player comparison tool, there are several similarities to the respective phenoms’ skill sets, with the esteemed Cazorla creating an average of 2.4 chances throughout the 15/16 Premier League season – to Simons 1.9 last term, completing 2.7 take-ons to Simons 2.4, and winning 6.2 ground duels to Simons 6.4.
Given the 38-year-old maestro’s most efficient Premier League seasons, posting 12 goals and assists apiece in the 12/13 campaign and seven goals and 11 assists in the 14/15 term, match up with Simons’ budding eye for goals and assists, he could be moulded into a midfield machine every bit the calibre of Cazorla.
And with Arteta having previously played at the Emirates Stadium at the same time as the Al Sadd star, he’ll undoubtedly know a thing or two about how to utilise Simons’ all-encompassing qualities to the best of his ability.
Praised as a “magic” talent by scout Jacek Kulig, Simons could well be the aforementioned Rice’s perfect central partner in north London. Indeed, he’d surely integrate into the fold without seam, absorbing the fruits of his teammates’ labour and cementing his stature as a prodigious talent capable of emulating the success of someone of Cazorla’s ilk.
