Why Arsenal must prioritise this midfield ace over all others

With the FA cup defended, Champions League football secured and a strong end to the season, Arsenal have a fantastic platform to challenge next year, not only for the Premier League, but realistically the Champions League as well.

Although the squad is at its strongest for some time, there are still a few pieces missing to take us to that next level – the most important being a world class central midfielder.

We’ve been linked with a host of international stars – Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets and Lars Bender to name a few. But looking closer to home, there are two excellent and proven Premier League players who are desperate for Champions League football and could fit the bill: Fabian Delph and Morgan Schneiderlin.

Both of them will undoubtedly end up at a top club, but the question is, which of the two would be the better signing for the Gunners?

Delph is a young and dynamic talent with a bright future. He would fit Arsenal’s philosophy of developing young English talent and his drive, pace and creativity would compliment the squad. At the moment though, he is just not what we need.

His stature and attacking nature are too similar to the options we already have. In a squad packed with small, creative and pacey players, we need a strong, physical world class central midfielder who can compliment the tenacity of Coquelin and replace the ageing, fringe players like Arteta, Rosicky, Diaby and Flamini.

Of all the available options in the market Schneiderlin makes the most sense. At 25 he is a good age, is a strong, disciplined, consistent player and is a proven and experienced Premier League performer. He is exactly the type of dependable, hard-tackling, possession-based midfielder we need as the shield to allow our creative players to express themselves.

There are doubts about whether he can make the step up from Southampton to a big club, in part due to the struggles of his former teammates Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren. Remember though – Schneiderlin is the engine of the team. Despite the mass exodus at Southampton, he reluctantly stayed, got on with it and had another strong season keeping them challenging against all odds. His performances, particularly during the 1-0 win at Old Trafford, have consistently shown he can boss big games and would have no issue making the step up.

The emergence of Francis Coquelin has been a blessing this season. He’s been fantastic and gone from an average fringe player to one of the first names on the team sheet. But if he loses form or picks up a bad injury, relying on him is too risky when there are transfer funds available.

Last season Wenger supposedly passed up the chance to re-sign Cesc. This time round we can’t afford not to strengthen in the middle of the park if we’re to push for both the domestic and European glory.