Over the 17 years Arsene Wenger has been involved with Arsenal Football Club, he has built a sound reputation of knowing the French market inside and out.
Emmanuel Petit, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira just to name a few, but recently the amount of French players heading to North London has dropped, for whatever reason.
The intelligent and prudent buys of Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud have also come at a time when the likes of Park Chu Young have joined from across the channel, leading to many questioning Wenger’s ability to shop in his homeland any more.
He has himself admitted that an improving German market may be a route to go down now, with players with vast technical ability being produced… do I need to even mention our £42.5million man’s name?
Arsenal’s £10m bid for Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye was met with despair by some because of the £4.4m Alan Pardew’s men paid Lille just two years previously (and also because it meant our club were conversing with Joe Kinnear).
So, there’s value in France, and sure enough, there’s talent too.
While the national team are struggling through their group to reach the World Cup next year, the Under 20 side, boosted by the fact the Under 21’s failed to qualify for their respective tournament, won the Under 20 World Cup in Turkey.
Geoffrey Kondogbia, Paul Pogba, and Florian Thauvin (I’ll discuss him later) to name a few.
It doesn’t stop the tabloids having a field day when it comes to players being linked with the Gunners though.
Lyon pair Clement Grenier and Maxime Gonalons were regularly mooted as potential signings for us, but with a combined fee supposedly as much as £50m it must have put us off.
Mamadou Sakho, a regular on the Arsenal ‘wish list’ and a fine player indeed, moved to Liverpool for £18m, but with captain Thomas Vermaelen approaching full fitness again, such an outlay for a similar (positionally anyway) defender would have been brass.
The French powerhouses, PSG and newbies Monaco, have blown the French market to shreds somewhat with their spending, leaving other clubs to pick up what they can on the cheap.
One of those clubs, our Champions League opponents this Wednesday Marseille, made one of the best transfers in the summer in my opinion.
The south of France is where I’ll start my list of players from Ligue 1 who could have added quality, and much needed quantity, this summer.
Florian Thauvin
Anyone who watched any of the Under 20’s this summer would have remembered this man. The 20-year-old drifted effortlessly from out wide to central positions, showing a fine blend of pace, creativity, and technical ability.
Thauvin first lit up the French top tier with Bastia, earning a £3m move to Lille last January, who for some reason sent him back on loan, obviously content with the services of Salomon Kalou (ouch).
It was back at Bastia where he proved that he was a genuine talent, scoring seven goals from just 13 games. He has been compared to a young(er) Eden Hazard, and also shows similarities to highly rated Julian Draxler, whose market value of £35m+ dwarfs his.
Sounds great, but why Arsenal?
With Gervinho leaving, the Ox and Podolski injured, we’re running out of genuine wide men. Theo Walcott is currently the only natural man out there, despite his plea to start up top, while youngsters Serge Gnabry and Ryo Myachi seem too raw at the moment.
Thauvin, for a relative snip of £13m, could have added a different element on the left hand side, able to hug the touchline or cut in-field. And after playing with him in the summer, someone needs to set up Yaya Sanogo don’t they?
Marseille landed his services for that fee though, surprisingly unchallenged by any of Europe’s elite.
Saying that, I would be surprised if Wenger wasn’t checking up on his progress, as he did with a certain Samir Nasri a few years back, and as far as I can remember that all ended fine…
Nicolas N’Koulou
A powerful centre-back, and one who Wenger has reportedly admitted is one of the ‘top five in Europe’. A bold statement, but it is hard to question the Cameroon international’s defensive qualities.
Though he stands at just 6″0, N’Koulou boasts similarities to our very own Koscielny, able to nip in in front of strikers, plus possessing underestimated strength.
Following a youth career with Monaco being deployed at right-back, as well as central midfield, the 23-year-old has also proved himself on the ball, as well as showing his speed.
Contrary to the beliefs of many, I didn’t actually think centre-back was going to be too much of a problem position this season. In Koscielny and Per Mertesacker I believe we have one of the best partnerships in the division, while Vermaelen as a back-up sounds a bit ridiculous.
Taking in to account Bacary Sagna’s form in pre-season and the early stages of the Premier League, we should be fine, but a young versatile defender wouldn’t have gone a miss.
N’Koulou could have added more depth, and would have given competition at right-back too, no bad thing given Sagna’s faltering contract negotiations.
Again, don’t be surprised to see a £15m+ move happen in the future, Wenger is a fan and has time on his side.
Kevin Gameiro
After proving himself as a goalscorer in Ligue 1 for many seasons, Gameiro got his move to Sevilla this summer for just over £6m.
His stats would suggest that is a bargain. The poacher had a ratio of nearly a goal every other game during his time at Lorient, and got his big move to PSG in 2011.
Unfortunately for him, his move coincided with that of a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose ego and nose is so big, it’s difficult to anyone to see past him on a striking point of view.
Gameiro struggled for opportunities, but again, proved his worth with a ratio of 1 in 3 in the French capital, sometimes from a wider position too.
After a move for Gonzalo Higuain this summer didn’t materialise, and I’m not even going to waste your time giving my feelings on Luis Suarez, a striker was a must this summer.
Unfortunately we have nothing to show for our efforts, apart from Nicky Bendtner gracing the Emirates yet again.
For a remarkably low fee, and the ability to play up top WITH Giroud as well as on his own, Gameiro would have been a wonderful signing in my opinion, and still having potential at 26.
Perhaps at the time of his move to Spain we were chasing bigger targets, but it all looks a bit silly now with the lack of depth we have available.
Remy Cabella
When we played Montpellier last season in the Champions League, most of the headlines were about Giroud’s return to his former club, while ITK talent spotters would have us looking out solely for Younes Belhanda.
Belhanda was impressive, for sure, and it’s disappointing he’s moved to Dynamo Kiev, but I was in awe of Cabella when I saw him.
He seemed to have Arsenal written all over him. 5″8, unbelievable close ball control, dribbling skills in the central areas. All a bit Santi Cazorla-esque to be honest.
Wenger has admitted in the past how highly he rates Cabella, who sounds a tiny bit Argentinean, but the attacking midfielder has pledged to stay at the now mid table club for at least another season.
With the capture of Mesut Ozil, Cabella might not be been deemed a necessary purchase for the time being. We’re stacked in the central areas, though a check up on Tomas Rosicky’s fitness is always needed before he signs another new deal.
Considering our contacts with Montpellier, a deal could be done for under £10m, a great price for the kind of quality he would bring.
Sebastian Corchia
It would be very surprising if this youngster stayed at Souchaux for much longer.
Corchia has built a fine reputation in Ligue 1, renowned for his attacking instincts from the right side of defence.
At just 22-years-of-age, he has already attracted interest from across Europe, including the Arse, and our struggles over Sagna’s contract could see a move happen.
Though it wouldn’t be cheap considering the amount of experience he has at a top side (none), Wenger has never been afraid of taking a chance on these kind of players.
Bearing in mind this is someone who has represented his country at every youth level, and is tipped for a senior call up shortly, a move could be a shrewd buy for us.
The one question is, as he possesses similar qualities to our own youngster Hector Bellerin, who is really progressing in the youth set-up, do we splash out on youth or promote from within to fill a potential void?
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
I know there are many more who could have been added to this, but I think value is the biggest factor in buying from France.
Kurt Zouma: Who hasn’t heard of this kid? 18-years-old, built like a ton of bricks, and decent on the ball too, the Saint Etienne man is destined for the top. He has time on his side though, and I don’t think a big money move for an 18-year-old centre-back would be a great idea at the moment.
Romain Alessandrini: A relative unknown before his £2.2m move to Rennes last summer from Clermont foot, the winger had the season of his life in France. Scoring 13 goals in 26 games from out wide, showing great pace and dribbling ability, I would have been delighted with the signing of the 24-year-old had it not been for an injury cutting short his season. Probably not worth the risk right now.
