Arsenal have reportedly made it a priority to sign Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves in the January transfer window after Thomas Partey’s injury blow.
The Gunners are likely to sign him on a short-term deal and hijack Newcastle United’s intentions to bring him in as Sandro Tonali’s replacement.
Neves is being eyed as one to fix the issues in the deeper midfield role, with Partey not likely to return anytime soon. Here we look at where the Portuguese midfielder could play in Mikel Arteta’s side if he joins.
Option 1: Deepest midfielder
As he is being brought in keeping Partey’s unavailability in mind, it’s safe to assume that Neves is being groomed to play as the deepest-lying midfielder in Arteta’s system.
He can actually thrive in that role, being able to win duels and brilliantly move the ball forward. Neves can help improve the speed in pinging the ball forward and enable the Gunners to create faster, more efficient attacking chances.
Option 2: As Rice’s partner
Neves can also play in a more advanced midfield role if necessary for his side. In that case, he can actually accompany Declan Rice as one of the two no 8s’ in the Arsenal side.
Jorginho can operate in that deeper midfield role in that case and Neves can look to create more chances or make use of his powerful shooting ability to be a bigger goal-scoring threat for the Gunners.
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