Arsenal have been linked with countless top talents over the last few years and according to Brazilian legend Neymar, they very nearly got one of the best players around.
Neymar is obviously nowhere near the player he once was as he plays out his final years back at Santos after a miserable spell in Saudi Arabia.
Nevertheless, he knows a player when he sees one and he’s had ample opportunity in recent times to cast his eye over the world’s best talent.
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Indeed, according to Neymar, the best midfielder in the world right now is obvious.
And Arsenal could have signed him.
Neymar names Arda Guler as the world’s best midfielder
Turkish midfielder Arda Guler has slowly built a reputation for himself at Real Madrid and he is very much in the upper-echelons of midfielders in La Liga.
As for the Gunners, well, Arsenal enquired with Madrid over signing Guler last summer as they looked to repeat the trick they pulled off with Martin Odegaard.
Madrid told Arsenal a stern no and the rest is history.
And according to Neymar, Guler is now the best midfielder around.
“For Arda Guler, he is an amazing player. He has the quality and I think right now, he is the best midfielder in the whole world,” Neymar said.
Arda Guler is the next Galactico
It’s easy to forget that Arda Guler is still only 20. That is no age to be playing and leading a team like Real Madrid and it is a testament to his talent.
Neymar’s assertion that he is the best in the world is obviously his own opinion and some might disagree.
But Guler is definitely on his way to being that man. He was a regular as a teenager for Madrid last season and under Xabi Alonso, remains a key player this season.
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They key for Guler now to go to the next level is to add more goals. Just three in La Liga this season is not good enough for a player so good and if he can start hitting double figures, then he will very much be among the very best.
As for Arsenal, you can see why they made their play to land him but unlike Odegaard, Guler is already a star at the Bernabeu and it seems there’s no chance of prising him away.
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