Denis Suárez seems to be on the verge of a move to Arsenal in January.
The Barcelona attacking midfielder is unhappy at the Camp Nou due to a lack of playing time and Arsenal have opened talks to try and acquire him this month in order to bolster their squad. This sudden urgency to get the move done makes sense if rumours surrounding the immediate futures of Mesut Ozil and in particular Aaron Ramsey have any foundation to them.
But would Suárez be worth the effort for Arsenal to acquire? Their last “Barcelona reject” was Alexis Sánchez and he served the club very well for a number of years. It’s unlikely Suárez would deliver on that level, but he’s certainly better than the minuscule minutes allotted to him by Ernesto Valverde this season.
Where has it gone wrong?
Suárez arrived at the Camp Nou from Villarreal (with the club executing a buy-back clause having originally sold him to the Valencian side) back in 2016. He immediately took the departed Xavi’s squad number and declared his favourite position to be the one occupied by Andrés Iniesta. These were bold statements, but ones he has ultimately never lived up to.
The standard of play and the absurd consistency demanded from Barcelona’s attacking players meant that he has never really secured an extended run in the side; right now he’s competing with Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho, for instance.
It’s not that Suárez has been especially lacking in any area; he’s just not a world-class player so isn’t getting the minutes he needs.
Does Denis Suarez fit with Arsenal?
So, so much. Before being sold to Villarreal, Suárez spent a season loan with Sevilla where he helped them win the Europa League under the management of current Arsenal boss Unai Emery. He thrived there and had a great appreciation for Emery as a coach, saying in 2015: “He is one of the best coaches around. He really gets the best out of us.”
Then on the pitch, the fit is obvious. Arsenal need an attacking player to function in the role that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is too injured to play in half the time and Ramsey is too out of favour and/or about to leave to take over himself.
Suárez’s skill-set is very similar to Ramsey, as he’s a quick player capable of short, incisive passes as well as some delightful dribbles and, of course, he can score goals. He scored a couple of stunners in a recent Copa del Rey tie for Barça and has always had the ability to find the back of the net from close or long-range.
Where could Denis Suarez play for Arsenal?
“He was playing as a left or right winger for Sevilla when he was with me,” Emery said when asked about Suárez, adding “a winger, right or left, one player can help us in this position.” So it’s clear that the idea would be to use him wide.
Whether that is in a simple 4-2-3-1 on the right, providing balance, pace and direct play to compliment Ozil. He would come inside and attack central zones, letting Héctor Bellerin rampage up and down the flank.
Alternatively, he could play one of the inside forward roles in a 3-4-2-1, starting from the half-space and functioning as a third wheel to the Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double act. He would do this differently to Alex Iwobi, who acts as a defensive counterweight and dribbler extraordinaire.
Suárez would want to be on the ball more, probing for passes but also being more willing to get in on goal and make third-man runs to balance out the supreme interplay of the Francophonic phenoms.
Finally, Emery could heavily play into the idea of Lacazette and Aubameyang as Arsenal’s everything and switch formation to a 4-2-2-2 (or 4-4-2). With Iwobi and Suárez out wide both tracking back but also acting as shuttles to carry the ball forward and double-up on the flanks with their full-backs, hurling crosses and passes into the box for their dynamic duo.
This would be an absurdly attacking system, but one that could produce incredible results if deployed in the right moment. At the very least, Emery would have the option.
Whichever position he would choose to line-up in, Suárez would be a great get for the Gunners.
The post Arsenal’s next Alexis? How Denis Suárez could relaunch his career by reuniting with Unai Emery appeared first on Squawka News.
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