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According to The Mirror, Ryan Fraser is ready to quit Bournemouth this summer and pursue a move to a top six club after negotiations on a new contract ended.
What’s the word, then?
Ryan Fraser’s contract is due to expire in the summer of 2020, meaning he could leave for free and enter negotiations with other clubs from January next year.
It was thought the winger would hold out for another 12 months to make his move, but the latest reports suggest he is prepared to leave the club this summer as the player ended talks over a new deal.
Arsenal are reportedly one of Fraser’s admirers, who has so far registered seven goals and 13 assists in this Premier League campaign.
The Bournemouth star has reportedly attracted the attention of Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea as well, with his assists tally matching that of Eden Hazard and surpassing Christian Eriksen and Raheem Sterling.
Kolasinac to suffer
Arsenal’s long pursuit for a winger under Unai Emery could finally come to an end in the form of a swoop for Fraser. He predominantly operates on the left-hand side of the pitch, a position currently occupied by Alex Iwobi. However, there’s another Arsenal player in particular who could suffer from this signing.
Sead Kolasinac has been one of Arsenal’s players of the season, especially when he’s operated as a left wing-back. He possesses immense power, a cultured first touch and plenty of vision and execution in his end product to make him one of the most dangerous attacking threats at the club, if not in the league.
However, when Emery has chosen to field a four-at-the-back system, playing with full-backs instead of wing-backs, Nacho Monreal tends to be preferred to the ex-Schalke man.
Emery has been guilty of regularly switching his formations in an attempt to fix the lack of productivity Arsenal have from out wide. He’s played a 3-5-2 to allow his side to attack down the wings more effectively than they would if Iwobi and Henkrikh Mkhitaryan were to start.
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With the arrival of the Bournemouth winger, the left hand-side may be the first issue solved this summer for the Spanish coach as he looks to revert to his preferred four-at-the-back system in time for next season. But that in turn would harm Kolasinac’s chances of getting into the lineup as Arsenal’s wing-back.
The stats suggest that Monreal does fair a lot better at left-back than Kolasinac, but doesn’t boast his attacking prowess either. The Spanish left-back has registered more tackles, interceptions, headed clearances and duels won over the Bosnian but Kolasinac’s numbers going forward are incredibly impressive, with five assists to Monreal’s three, more big chances created per game, more crosses and a better crossing accuracy than the Spaniard.
Signing a winger, whether it be Fraser or someone else, will surely damage Kolasinac’s chances of starting for Arsenal unless he can adapt himself to the left-back role more naturally and find a defensive discipline that he’s so far lacked in his time in North London.