We’ve been extensively linked with a move for VfL Wolfsburg left-back Ricardo Rodriguez recently, and have received a huge boost in the hunt for his signature as he’s told the Bundesliga side he wants to leave, as reported by the Daily Mail.
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Rodriguez has been tipped to join fellow Swiss international Granit Xhaka at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger apparently keen on uniting the duo at club level. As the report states, Rodriguez is keen on playing alongside Xhaka for club as well as country, so if he really is looking towards the exit then there should be nothing standing between us and his signature.
The 23-year-old has apparently declared that he wants to leave, and while it doesn’t say that anything is official, he seems to have essentially handed in a transfer request. Wolfsburg’s sporting director Klaus Allofs claims the club are happy to let him leave (via Swiss newspaper Blick), which can only be good news for us.
“Rici has stated that his future is not with us,” Allofs said.
“But we can live with this decision.”
Rodriguez was excellent during Switzerland’s victory over Albania, in fact he was arguably one of the best players on the pitch. The Swiss certainly weren’t at their best by any stretch, but Xhaka and – his potential new Arsenal teammate – Rodriguez were superb.
As we’ve said numerous times, the left-back position is not exactly a priority this summer. We have other more pressing concerns, like a new striker for example, but if we have the chance to sign Rodriguez now then we should take the opportunity.
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Nacho Monreal isn’t getting any younger, and he might not be able to perform at the highest level for all that much longer. Kieran Gibbs hasn’t improved the way he should have either, and as much as it’s a shame to see an academy graduate fail, if we can replace him with a player of Rodriguez’s calibre then it’s a no brainer.