Arsenal can finally land true Granit Xhaka ‘upgrade’, he’s ‘perfect’ for Mikel Arteta

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It has now been suggested that Arsenal ought to view Khephren Thuram as the ideal replacement for Granit Xhaka.

Khephren Thuram has now been mooted as an ideal transfer target for Arsenal to try to sign.

Arsenal are known to be on the verge of a midfield rebuild. The likes of Thomas Partey, Jorginho, and Mohamed Elneny could well all leave the Emirates Stadium behind this summer. 

However, it could be argued that the Gunners are still yet to adequately replace Granit Xhaka, who left the club in the most recent summer transfer window. 

After the Swiss midfielder’s departure, Arsenal did sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea to take up Xhaka’s place in the squad. However, the German ace played as a striker for the Blues, and has struggled to shine on a consistent basis when deployed in the left-eight midfield berth for Arsenal.

Havertz has certainly failed to match the impact that Xhaka had on the team whilst playing in that position last season.

As such, analyst Ben Mattinson has now urged Arsenal to seriously consider a swoop for Nice star Thuram. According to Mattinson, the 22-year-old would represent an “upgrade” on Xhaka, and is a perfect fit for Mikel Arteta’s tactical setup.

Who is Khephren Thuram?

The Frenchman is the brother of Marcus Thuram, who currently plies his trade for Inter Milan, and the son of the great Lilian Thuram, who helped France to a World Cup triumph in 1998. Like his brother and father, Khephren Thuram has been capped at senior international level by France.

Thuram has spent his entire club career to date in his come country, too, and has established himself as a key player for Nice in recent seasons. He has demonstrated that he can provide an impact at both ends of the pitch, and is a very complete all-round midfielder. 

Whilst he is defensively solid in the middle of the park, he has also been occasionally used in a more advanced role by Nice, reminiscent of the function that Xhaka served for Arsenal last season. As he boasts a blend of power, technical ability, pace, and guile, Thuram is well-suited to operating in this part of the pitch.

Havertz may have been intended as an upgrade on Xhaka, and may well still come good in that role. However, Havertz has recently shown promise as a striker for Arsenal. If he ends up leading the line for the Gunners on a more regular basis, that could create space for Thuram in Arteta’s squad.