Arsene Wenger Confirms Interest In Chelsea Midfielder Juan Mata

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed his interest in Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata. However, the Frenchman understands that the chance of Arsenal signing the coveted Spanish attacking midfielder is very low considering Chelsea will be reluctant to sell to a rival club.

The Spanish midfielder is being continuously linked with a Stamford Bridge departure following the recent signing of Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala. He was also left out of Chelsea’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United on Monday night leading to suggestions that he could well be on the move, and the Gunners are known to be in the hunt.

There were reports that Juan Mata senior, the player’s father and his agent was at the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League tie against Fenerbahce on Tuesday night, but Wenger has suggested a deal would be a long shot.

According to Goal.com, he said :

I like him. I have heard, like you, that Juan Mata could be on the market. I don’t know, there is a reluctance in England to sell to each other.
We have to see how bad the injuries are but I can’t tell you more than that.
We are on the market, the whole world knows that now but I can’t be more creative than that because nothing has been concluded yet.

Mata who joined Chelsea in 2011, has enjoyed success at the club winning the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League in his first two seasons. He scored an impressive 20 goals last season, as well as 35 assists to claim the Chelsea player of the year award. However, he feels he is being pushed out of Chelsea by new manager Jose Mourinho.

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However Mourinho on Saturday insisted that the versatile midfielder is one of his key players. It is quite questionable to see Mata come under the label of important players, especially since he has seen little time on the field under Mourinho.

The Gunners desperately in need of quality reinforcements, his signing would go some way in improving the squad and appeasing the fans. However, many will argue whether we actually need any strengthening in creative midfield, and their funds would be better off spent on other positions such as defensive midfield and right back in particular.

We already have Cazorla who plays in a similar position, the potential signing of Mata could see him play less of a starting role. Having said that, Cazorla has regularly been deployed on the left of midfield, proving very effective in this position. So it is possible to play both of them together in the midfield.

Arsenal are currently lacking strength in depth and the acquisition of Mata would certainly provide that, with two genuinely world-class players fighting it out for a place in the starting line up. With transfer deadline just 4 days away Wenger should also concentrate on signing a defensive midfielder and a striker because we need to strengthen these two positions if we want to compete against big teams.

What do you say Gooners?