Ilkay Gündoğan was once the most lauded defensive midfielder in the world, he was instrumental in the side that saw Borussia Dortmund crowned Bundesliga champions in 2012. He also bullied Real Madrid off the park in the UEFA Champions League Semi Finals in 2013. But a back injury that plagued the midfielder for over a year has posed various questions – important questions that have to be considered. Is he the same player he once was?
Gündoğan’s back injury was so severe that he missed the World Cup in Brazil, and has only gone on to play 7 Bundesliga matches this year, mustering a respectable goal and an assist in those matches. However, to scrutinise him this season in a Borussia Dortmund team that is simply underperforming would be unfair. Is he injury prone? At 24 years of age you would have to say yes; after all it was a setback that kept him out of the World Cup. And the final question, is he a risk worth taking? Absolutely; if reports of Gündoğan being available for 16 million pounds are anything to go by, then he is a player that would undoubtedly be worth pursuing. Let’s analyse him in more detail…
To really get an understanding and knowledge of Ilkay Gündoğan, we have to go back a long time, prior to his injury. His best years were undoubtedly 2012 and 2013 in a Dortmund side that also boasted Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze. In 2013 he had an average pass success rate of 87%. 65% of those passes were forward, which indicates his ability to start attacks and feed the creative front-line. His passing in the final third shows his intelligence as a footballer, and that he has the ability to be incredibly creative as well as being defensively disciplined.
Also in that year, Gündoğan won an incredible 46 duels out of a possible 58 – that is bloody good when you put it into context. German newspaper Die Zeit once labelled him “a better Schweinsteiger” – high praise indeed. Hopefully all this information justifies Gündoğan as the extremely good player he is when fully fit and has had substantial match practice. This takes me back to my point earlier, to scrutinize Gündoğan this season where has played few games and is still recovering fully from a long-term injury would be unfair.
Reports suggest he could be available for as little as 16 million; if this is true then Arsene Wenger should sign him immediately (preferably a part-exchange that involves Flamini!) Gündoğan is a player that has a steely edge to him – something that Arsenal desperately lack, but he also possesses a wonderful creative side that would help him settle into an Arsenal team that has it in abundance. The risk comes from seeing if he can return to his best. But being so young and having played so little football, Ilkay Gündoğan is a gamble that Arsenal, more than anyone, can afford to take.
