Assessing 5 CAM options that Arsenal should pursue in the transfer window

Despite Arsenal changing Emile Smith Rowe’s number to 10 in the past week, they should still undoubtedly be searching the transfer market for a starting player in the CAM position.

Today, I have looked at five options that have either been rumoured or are realistic in some sort of way, and assess how well they could turn out if Arsenal were to sign one of them. So without any further ado, let’s start with number one:

Martin Ødegaard- Real Madrid

Martin is a very familiar face having spent half the season in London with Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid. However, the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti meant that Ødegaard returned with hope that he may be in contention to start for Real finally. Mario Torrejan of Spanish media outlet Cadena Ser reported last week saying, “I think that Odegaard will leave Real Madrid, I have seen him very disconnected.”

https://twitter.com/AFTVMedia/status/1419586793876475905?s=20

This sparked rumours again that the Norwegian was a possibility for Arsenal to retain. Then only this morning, rumours resurfaced from Chris Wheatley who is the chief reported for Football.London that Arsenal has not given up on signing Odegaard and that he is in favour of returning to North London. Though the stats don’t back up his performances, he got 1 crucial goal against rivals Tottenham Hotspur and two assists in 14 games in a very below-average season for the Gunners. He is certainly not the best option on the list, but having already adapted to the tempo of the Premier League and still, at a very young age Martin wouldn’t be the worst signing.

Houssem Aouar- Olympique Lyonnais

Throughout the whole of last season and even this summer, Aouar to Arsenal rumours has spread all across social media. It seems that since last season, Jean-Michel Aulas (President of OL) has had to reevaluate what he had demanded for one of his key players, and with the already departing talisman of Memphis Depay to Barcelona, it seems that Olympique Lyonnais are rapidly falling apart. He didn’t have the best of seasons, but regardless got 7 goals and 3 assists in the Ligue 1 and appeared in the France U21 squad countless times. The 23-year-old is now valued at only £25m, half of which Arsenal have reportedly bid for Leicester man James Maddison.

It looks like other clubs are now on the case as well, with Liverpool needing a CM as well to replace the departing Georginio Wijnaldum. Although Aouar is not the perfect CAM, he would still be a perfect addition to the squad. If you would like to read more about how the Frenchman would fit into the Arsenal starting lineup, I recently wrote an article for the Arsenal Review assessing exactly that.

Matheus Pereira- West Brom

Multiple Premier League clubs have shown interest including West Ham and Sheffield United in the Brazilian CAM after West Brom were relegated in a tough campaign. There hasn’t been any real interest unlike the others but I have selected the 25-year-old because many fans would agree that they would take him at Arsenal. Going off pure technical ability, he is one of the most talented players that were in the Premier League last season, and if to stay at West Brom next season arguably the best player in the Championship.

In 33 appearances in the Premier League last season, Matheus helped create 6 goals and scored 11 himself. Another bonus is that Pereira could also fit where Willian was playing on the right-wing. Since West Brom were relegated, the fee for the Brazilian will consequently be lower than other players of his calibre and overall would be a great addition to the side.

James Maddison- Leicester City

This is the name almost every Arsenal fan wants to see. Valued at close to £50m, it’s not the cheapest but it is completely worth it. Having struggled with injury in the past season, it is understandable why Leicester would get rid of the 24-year-old. Although injuries are a problem and are the reason he has only made 1 cap internationally for England when on the pitch he pulls the strings to make everything work in the attacking phases.

Last season, despite not playing as much as usual he scored 8 and assisted 5 in an outstanding season for the Foxes where they, unfortunately, succumbed to the other teams at the final hurdle to 5th place. Back to the Maddison rumour and there is a confirmation that Arteta has been tracking him but there has been no fee accepted yet. In my opinion, hopefully, after Ben White has been announced, James Maddison must become Arsenal’s number one priority. His creativeness and passing is something that we clearly miss and have been searching for since Mesut Özil was excluded from the starting eleven.

Bernardo Silva- Manchester City

I can’t confirm the legitimacy of the rumour, but it is clear that Manchester City wants to get rid of Bernardo Silva as a sacrifice to attempt to bring in big money signings such as Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Spurs talisman Harry Kane. Naturally playing as a right midfielder, but has adapted to the CAM position when included in the City side, Bernardo has been nothing short of excellent since his £43m transfer from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017. At the age of 26, the Portuguese man still played well with the limited game time that he received and subsequently had two goals and six assists to his tally in the Premier League.

The rumour about Arsenal’s interest in Bernardo started on Twitter on an account called @TransferChecker. There is no mention of any credited journalist or agent that this has come from, but has been shared around by journalists who have ‘confirmed’ that there is slight interest in the CAM. Like the Maddison rumour, it is unknown how expensive the fee might be and we will just have to wait and see if any more information comes out of this. Personally, though, I would love to have the 26-year-old at Arsenal.

Arsenal are interested in signing Bernardo Silva from Man City.

More info coming later tonight. #AFC

— TC (@TransferChecker) July 23, 2021

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading about the 5 CAM options that I think Arsenal should pursue as we reach the end and most important part of the transfer window. Let me know as always your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter at @AaronJaffe11.