Arsenal miss out on FREE Xhaka replacement Tielemans

James Shearman

• Updated: 11 Jun 2023 12:21 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal could have signed Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester City.

Instead, the Belgian has signed for Unai Emery's Europa Conference League-bound Aston Villa.

Tielemans had been close to a move away from the King Power Stadium on numerous occasions but the imminent expiry of his contract has finally made it happen.

Not to mention, Leicester's relegation from the Premier League meant that he wouldn't have stayed even if he was under contract.

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The Gunners were among the 'Big Six' clubs previously linked with a move but it seems they turned their attention to other targets in recent weeks.

But they will struggle to find a better deal than Tielemans on a free transfer in the current market.

Why Tielemans made sense for Arsenal

Despite an excellent 2022-23 campaign, Arsenal are expected to move on from former captain Granit Xhaka in the transfer window.

The Switzerland international turns 31 in September so it is time for manager Mikel Arteta to start looking for a replacement.

And Tielemans would have been a perfect fit as the 'number 8' in Arteta's 4-3-3 system.

With Thomas Partey having a more defensive role, and Martin Odegaard taking up more attacking positions, Xhaka's job was to be a link between the two. Tielemans could have done exactly that.

He even has the same long-range shooting ability that Xhaka possesses, if not better.

The 26-year-old may have had a disappointing campaign, in a poor Leicester side, but he has proven to provide class in the midfield area for a number of seasons.

For free, that should have been too good of a deal for Arsenal to pass up on.