Arsenal should be holding Khedira to ransom, not the other way round – Young Guns blog

1 Khedira is not the player Arsenal need apparently

World Cup winner Sami Khedira is reportedly close to signing for Arsenal, but there are better options out there, says Young Guns blogger Jamie Sanderson…

I wrote a few weeks ago about how Arsenal signing Sami Khedira could be a bad move, but it seems that Arsene Wenger is keen on landing the player this summer.

Khedira has rejected a new contract at Real Madrid and is available for about £23million, but his wage demands would be a huge drag.

The stories today continue to suggest that he wants £150,000-a-week or he won’t be moving to the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal are battling to get him to change his mind.

A newly crowned Champions League and World Cup winner he might be, but Khedira’s injury problems meant he didn’t feature as much as you’d like in those triumphs. Those trophies were won despite him not being involved.

I like Khedira as a player – he’s got a great passing range, good engine and has a lot of quality, but Arsenal are already dogged by injured midfielders and this guy would be another one.

He only made 13 appearances in La Liga last term and got injured in the warm up for the World Cup final, having battled niggling problems during the whole tournament.

I like that we’re going for big names, but you can’t tell me that Morgan Schneiderlin or Lars Bender wouldn’t be money better spent?

If Khedira comes cheaper then let’s do it, but it should be Arsenal holding him at ransom, not the other way around.