Why Arsenal should revive their interest in Stephan El Shaarawy
Back in April 2015, Arsenal were interested in signing Stephan El Shaarawy, who was then plying his trade for AC Milan. But a move never materialised as he left AC Milan to join AS Monaco on a season-long loan.
Stephan El Shaarawy, 26, was once considered as one of the top talents in Italy but recurrent injuries have stalled his career somewhat. The Italy international, however, has managed to revive his career at Roma, where he has managed to score 5 goals and supply an assist in 11 Serie A games this season.
Now that he has revitalised his career in Rome, should Arsenal revive their interest in Stephan El Shaarawy?
Arsenal were dumped out of the Carabao Cup following a 2-0 loss to North London rivals Tottenham in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Tottenham took advantage of Arsenal’s patched up defence by scoring via two blistering counter-attacks, with Son Heung-min netting the opener in the first half and Dele Alli doubling the lead after the interval.
The defeat against Spurs was Arsenal’s second on a row after they endured a shock 3-2 defeat at struggling Southampton in the Premier League last the weekend. Two back-to-back defeats certainly are worrying for Unai Emery, whose once free-scoring forwards suddenly find themselves in the midst of a bit of a scoring drought, although the Gunners beat Burnley 3-2 yesterday.
As much as the Gunners are in need of defenders, Emery should also recruit an attacker to give competition for the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Iwobi, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. That said, Emery must target Stephan El Shaarawy in January.
Standing at 5ft 10in, El Shaarawy is a technically-gifted and a tactically versatile player, known for his incredible pace, ability and creativity. He is primarily a left-winger by trade but has also been used on the right as a conventional winger or in the hole behind the main striker.
The Pharoah, as he is called due to his Egyptian father, is an exceptional dribbler and has the ability to pick out a pass. He loves to drift in from the left onto his stronger right foot to either create chances for his teammates or pack a shot on goal.
El Shaarawy is skilful, a fantastic crosser of the ball, deadly in front of the goal and capable of sliding fantastic through balls to pick out the runs of his teammates.
Blessed with incredible vision, the 26-year-old has a wonderful range of passing and backs his ability to pick out the right pass. El Shaarawy uses his low of centre of gravity to deadly effect, twists and turns to bamboozle defenders and possesses the ability to create things out of absolutely nothing.
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El Shaarawy will enter the prime years of his career and there won’t be a better time than January for Arsenal to land one of former manager Arsene Wenger’s targets. The Italian is a true wide player and his acquisition would certainly bolster the Gunners’ top-four hopes this season.