Why Arsenal should be looking to sign this Serie A midfielder Luis Alberto

Bengaluru, April 28: Arsenal have overseen a major fall from grace in recent years especially since they parted ways with Arsene Wenger. Unai Emery, with a big reputation, was chosen as the successor to the iconic French manager and it is safe to say that he failed to live up to expectations.

Mikel Arteta was then brought in to replace his countryman in the hot seat and it was a pretty monumental challenge for the former Arsenal midfielder in his first-ever job as a full-time manager.

Since Arteta's arrival, the Gunners have shown significant progress. They have been a treat to watch thanks to their exciting free-flowing attacking game reminding the fans of the football they once used to play under Wenger.

However, it is pretty much evident that the squad lacks the necessary quality in order to challenge the clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool and Arteta's biggest task will be to close the gap.

One of the biggest reasons behind Arsenal's struggle in recent years is Mesut Ozil's poor form. The former World Cup winner with Germany is the highest earned at the club earning around £350k per week but has failed to justify his astronomic wages.

He has just seven goals and six assists to his name in the last couple of years which is far from impressive and not acceptable from a player of his standard. A new playmaker should be among the top priorities in Arteta's wishlist for the summer and a player the Gunners should target is Lazio playmaker Luis Alberto.

The Spanish international might have failed to make his mark in the Premier League earlier with Liverpool but has been one of the best players in Italy since he moved to Lazio in 2016. The 27-year-old has become a staple in the Lazio squad and is one of the biggest reasons why Simone Inzaghi's side have become the biggest threat to Juventus' Serie A dominance.

Alberto has mostly been used as the advanced midfielder from the left-hand side in Lazio's 3-5-2 formation this season and is the prime creator for the Biancocelesti. Despite playing in a deeper role and not as a typical number ten, the Spanish international has created the most number of chances in Serie A this season.

He has created 75 chances and 16 big chances this campaign and his number could have been much more impressive if he was deployed in a more advanced role, the kind of freedom Ozil usually enjoys at Arsenal.

Luis Alberto also has the most number of assists to his name in Serie A this season and also has the most number of assists from open play the numbers being 12 and 9 respectively. The Spaniard is quite decisive in the final third as well and has played 723 passer ending in final third which is also the highest in Serie A. The 27-year-old is also not shy of testing the goalkeeper himself and has averaged 2.8 shots per game having scored four goals this campaign.

When a player is responsible for creating most chances for his team, he has to be a little more expressive compared to his teammates which usually results in lower passing accuracy but for Alberto, that has not been the case. He has registered a passing accuracy of 85.2% this season which is really impressive considering his average of 3 key passes and 3.1 long balls played per game.

The 27-year-old is also technically very much gifted and is good with either foot. He is a solid dribbler as well and has made 2.1 successful dribbles per game on an average. One of the biggest weaknesses of Mesut Ozil's game is his lack of defensive contribution but Alberto certainly excels in that area too. He works really hard to win the ball back from the opposition which is evident from his 1.4 tackles and 0.7 interceptions per game.

The Spaniard might have failed at Liverpool but since then, he has worked hard to make it to where he is right now. He is a modern-day attacking midfielder who not only excels in playmaking ability but also provides a lot to other areas as well. Mikel Arteta should be looking for the services of his compatriot as a worthy successor of Mesut Ozil.