Former Arsenal and Villarreal star Robert Pires has said the Gunners will win the league if the sign Sami Khedira.
The German World Cup winner, currently sidelined with a hamstring problem, was subject of intense speculation in the summer over a move to the Emirates Stadium. A move failed to materialise, but with less than a year to go on his current contract, Los Blancos could cash in on the midfielder in the January transfer market rather than risk losing him on a free next summer.
Khedira, who signed for Los Blancos after the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, cut a frustrated figure in the early part of last season as he couldn’t make it into the first team, with players like Luka Modric, Xabi Alonso and Angel di Maria keeping him out. In November last year he sustained a serious knee injury that kept him on the sidelines until April, but he came back to make an appearance in the Champions League final.
Having sold Alonso and di Maria in the summer, Khedira was hopeful of earning his place back in the team, but compatriot Toni Kroos is now blocking his path to regular first team football.
And Pires said Khedira is just the player Arsenal need. Talking to the Daily Telegraph, he stated: “He [Wenger] needs a big player in the middle — like Viera, strong, tall — because this position is very important for the balance between attack and defence.
“The quality is there, but you need more. Maybe they have an opportunity with Khedira in the January window. He played very well with Germany. My advice is that if he can buy Khedira he can be the Vieira figure, providing more aggression in the middle.”
