Arsenal Need N’Golo Kante

You know it’s officially silly season when a player’s sister’s LinkedIn activity is cited as evidence that said player might be on the move. But such is the frenzy around the transfer market, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a popular name on the merry-go-round at the moment: the Borussia Dortmund man has been linked to both Manchester United and Arsenal.

It can be hard to wade through the tide of supposition and innuendo at this time of year, so it was pleasingly surprising when Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made his feelings about another reported Arsenal target, N’Golo Kante, very clear indeed last week. “He gives you ideas,” Wenger said of the Leicester City midfielder before Kante went out and gave Wenger a few more with a sublime performance in France’s 2-1 win over Romania in the opening game of Euro 2016.

Perhaps it was because the quotes landed on the first day of the tournament that they didn’t make so much of a splash, but Wenger’s lavish praise of Kante deserves to be recalled in full. “I admire and like N’Golo Kante a lot. He gives you ideas,” Wenger told beIN Sports. “He gives you the feeling that the higher the level he plays at, the more at ease he is.

“We are talking about numbers. He has the most interceptions in Europe, and by far. He has incredible quality. He feels the game; only very few people can do that. He’s always where he needs to be. It is very rare to have that in the central midfielder. Not always orthodox, but always in the right place.”

Leicester can probably expect another phone call when France’s Euro 2016 campaign comes to an end, and even if Jamie Vardy does turn Arsenal down, there could be a purchase incoming from the champions. It seems inconceivable that Wenger would not move for a player he holds in such lofty esteem.

The question then would be how Kante fits into the Arsenal squad. There has already been one midfield signing this summer in the shape of Granit Xhaka, purchased from Borussia Monchengladbach for a reported £33 million; Mohamed Elneny, the only January signing, is also a central midfielder. But with Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini both leaving on free transfers this summer, it is a position which has room to undergo significant reconstruction.

Xhaka, who completed over 100 passes in Switzerland’s 1-0 win over Albania in their opening match of Euro 2016, is the replacement for Arteta, the manipulator of the ball, even if his style differs from that of the departing captain. But there is surely still room for a combative ball-winner, stepping in for Flamini.

Francis Coquelin is the first choice in this role at present, and although he has performed very well over the past two seasons since his unlikely return from loan at Charlton, excelling in numerous occasions as the midfield anchor, there is ultimately a reason he is at home and Kante is playing in France for Les Bleus, drawing praise from none other than Claude Makelele, a man who gave his name to the position.

“Do you know the most important quality for a holding midfielder? It is generosity,” Makelele said after France’s win over Romania. “And everyone can see that N’Golo has it. The second thing is positional sense to guarantee the balance of the team. For a player of his age, who is not used to the role, I find him very mature.”

To revisit Wenger’s own praise, which touched on a similar theme, Kante “feels the game.” Where Coquelin can sometimes feel like an accident waiting to happen, haring around the pitch and flying into tackles, Kante covers the deep midfield rather more seamlessly, cleaning up messes and stylishly eradicating danger. The disciplinary facts bear it out: Coquelin had seven yellow cards and one red last season; Kante had only three bookings. It is an extraordinary statistic for a player who makes a living by winning the ball.

Coquelin would be a good option to have in the squad, but he is not a player capable of defining the very role, as Makelele once did. At the moment, Kante is that player — and for all the transfer talk about a playmaker like Mkhitaryan, it is clear Wenger has room for an upgrade in defensive midfield. Judging by his praise for Kante, it seems he has the intent too.