Arsenal look to Sevilla and Grzegorz Krychowiak to help midfield quality

Arsenal are combing Europe to find themselves a good central midfielder to help their defense in the heart of the pitch. They lack both quality and depth in the middle, and with long Premier League and Champions League campaigns ahead, they need to address that weakness fast.

With that in mind, they’ve turned their eye to Spain. Arsenal have recently been linked to a Real Madrid midfielder who may be on the market in Lucas Silva, but his fit for England might be questionable. Silva isn’t their only target, though. The Gunners have also been linked to a £22 million move for Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak, a Polish international who would give Arsenal that much-needed hardman presence they seek in the center of the pitch.

Krychowiak is the exact kind of big, physical defensive presence in midfield that Arsenal have been searching for. He can hang with the roughest and toughest midfielders England has to throw at him, and can bang around in the box on corners and free kicks with any defender or striker around. That kind of commanding presence would be a huge asset for the Gunners, and one they’ve missed in midfield for quite some time.

While defense and power are his focus, Krychowiak is no slouch with the ball at his feet. He’s not going to stun you with incredible cross-field passes worthy of a regista, but he’s a solid presence in possession who can reliably find the open man -- be it a safe pass to let his side keep the ball or a pass to push the ball up the field into the attacking third. He’s even got a decent nose for when he has a chance to make a late run into the box, and is a major threat attacking set pieces. All in all, his strengths are pretty much a perfect fit for what Arsenal need in midfield right now.

For all that power and tenacity, sometimes Krychowiak gets a little over eager with it. He accumulates cards like a librarian collects books, earning 19 yellow cards and one red across all competitions last season. That’s 20 total times the ref wrote down his number in 48 matches over the course of a campaign, a staggeringly high ratio. With those bookings often come free kicks in dangerous areas of the pitch, something no team can afford to give up many of.

There’s another potential issue with the Polish strongman that could actually exacerbate his booking issue in England. While he’s not slow by any means, Krychowiak also isn’t a particularly fast player. When dealing with the quicker midfielders and faster overall pace of the EPL, he might wind up fouling even more often than he has in the past.

Krychowiak has often been able to deal with his lack of pace with a strong sense of positioning and timing, but he’s rarely had to deal with midfielders like Eden Hazard, Philippe Coutinho and Christian Eriksen. Unless Arsenal are certain that he can handle defending them without putting himself or his teammates in trouble, they might want to consider other options in the transfer market.

One other possible problem: Krychowiak suffered a broken rib playing for Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday. While he finished the match and a broken rib is not generally a long-term injury, it could give Arsenal at least a degree of pause while they assess the move, opening a chance for them to look elsewhere again.

There are some pretty big red flags with this deal, especially for the price, but Krychowiak’s strengths make so much sense for Arsenal’s needs that it’s hard to see them passing him up. With that in mind, added to the high amount of momentum the potential deal has seemed to have in recent days, we’re giving this one a 7/10 chance of becoming reality.