Arsene Wenger's underdeveloped survival skills

The Mirror reports today that Arsene Wenger is “tracking” Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa which makes it sound a bit like a football equivalent of The Hunger Games but that’s the football lexicon for you.

The Mirror goes on to say that Wenger (who this observer believes would not be a hot prospect in this Football Games project) has been a big fan of the 22-year-old who has been a regular in the Montpellier team since he was 18 and wants to bring him to Arsenal in the summer.

The Central African Republic-born centre back is rated at £7m and is thought to have a year remaining on his contract at the club but Newcastle are thought to be interested in the player too, naturally given the recent spate of Franco-Geordie integration at whatever it is St James’ Park is called now.

Yanga-Mbiwa expressed his desire to play in England back in December, saying; “People live for football in England, and that is what I want to experience. I’ll see what offers I get, but English football is incredible. There is more physical contact than in France, but I like that - it suits my style of play.”

The Mirror ends the article with a video clip of Yanga-Mbiwa in action against Lille and asks readers to comment on his performance with the question “New Adams or new Squillaci?” thus eliminating the middle ground that he could be somewhere in between the two (Keown or a Toure perhaps) and setting him up to be a club legend or legendary flop. Before he has even signed for the club.

And let’s not even get into the lack of a Newcastle alternative to the “Adams or Squillaci” question.

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