An Unpopular but Effective Choice for Arsene Wenger

When Tony Pulis slapped a £25m price tag on the head of Jonny Evans, Arsenal fans on social media went into meltdown. Gooners have been crying out for Arsene Wenger to spend money and are expecting a 'household' name to strengthen the defence and add more dynamism to their hit and miss attack. When supporters cry for an expensive 'household' name they generally mean someone from mainland Europe. 

Evans is important to West Brom, featuring in 30 games last season under the guidance of Tony Pulis as the Baggies survived relegation by finishing 14th in the table. In a team that averaged just 45% possession last season, Evans only committed one error that led to an effort on goal according to Squawka. Making over 500 appearances for the Baggies, Ally Robertson penned a piece for Midlands news site Express and Star where he states, "It'll be nigh-on impossible to find a defender that stacks up to Evans."

Furthermore, Evans made the majority of his appearances last season at his undesired position of left back where Robertson believes he excelled. The former Scottish central defender would not begrudge the Northern Irish player of a move to Emirates where he would likely play in is preferred position of centre-back in the Champions League while collecting a fruitful pay-packet each week. 

Robertson isn't the only player singing the praises of Evans. Arsenal Invincible, Lauren told the London Evening Standard, "We need someone with determination and someone who is commanding and Jonny could fit the bill." Evans made almost 200 league appearances in 9 years for Manchester United having graduated from the fabled academy under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson. Not bad for a player who is allegedly mediocre at best.

Looking at the style of play of the 28 year old, he ticks a lot of the boxes that Wenger wants to see in a central defender. At 6ft 2in, he is a presence in both defence and attack. Evans is an intelligent player and excels at man marking the opposition's forwards, just look at his performance against Robert Lewandowski in Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 opener. Not the quickest of defenders, his wily nature means that he doesn't get caught out of position too often.

Against West Ham last season, Andy Carroll netted an 8 minute hat trick which left Arsenal's title challenge in ruins. Despite rescuing a draw, all of Carroll's goals originated from crosses with Gabriel Paulista being at fault for two of the goals. Throughout the Euros, and the rest of Jonny's career, dealing with crosses has been a major strength and have saved a countless number of points for his teams.

Rather surprisingly for a Northern Irish defender, he is adept at taking the ball out of defence almost acting as another creative player. For the national side, Evans has been known to embark on adventurous runs from his position which can leave his side short at the back but can also give the side another passing option. During the Euros he recorded a 77% pass completion rate and averaged 33 passes in each of the matches.

With Per Mertesacker ruled out for the foreseeable future with a knee injury and Shkodran Mustafi unlikely to cost less than €40m, defensive options are limited for Wenger and with the transfer window closing in one week, the Arsenal hierarchy could do no worse than purchase the 28 year old Northern Ireland international.