Arsenal set to offer £10m for young Premier League midfielder

Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is apparently on the radar of Arsenal gaffer Arsene Wenger, according to The Sun.

The Gunners have had a tough time in the middle of the pitch of late with Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky and most recently Abou Diaby all sidelined with injuries, and the men with the money are ready to throw £10m at Southampton for the services of their 23-year-old Frenchman.

Schneiderlin has been the Saints' standout performer this season and his allruing displays in his debut season in the Premier League has won him a lot of fans.

In his 34 league appearances, the former Strasbourg man has scored five goals, created 28 chances for his teammates and has a pass accuracy of 85%.

Now, goals aren't something you would associate with the deep-lying midfielder - in fact he had scored just three in his previous five years at St Mary's, but he has amassed enough to put him joint third in the club's top league scorers this campaign, ahead of the likes of £13m summer signing Gaston Ramirez and Adam Lallana.

Arsenal have long sought after a Patrick Viera type player since the Frenchman left for Italy back in 2005, and although Schneiderlin does not contain the same physical presence as Paddy V, his technical ability and positional sense make him one of the most effective defensive midfielders in the English topflight.

It is not like Arsene Wenger - a Frenchman - to try and sign a Frenchman to replace a long-serving Frenchman, is it?

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Comments

[Duc]

Does AW really not care about passports? Because he certainly finds a lot of time to find French players! Of all the players to be interested in at Southampton why isn't it Shaw, Clyne, Rodriguez or Lallana as they're the standout players? Oh wait they're English. Can't wait for AW to bog off back to France. There, he can trawl Guingamp's, Lorients academies to his contentment.

[ed]

You really need to sort out that annoying social icon bar that floats in the screen and makes it very difficult tobread the article.
Didn't read it, too much hassle, clicked out, plenty of other sites that don't obscure the screen.