Arsenal have come a long way from the days of the Invincibles, when a combination of sporting talent, solid work ethic and masterful managerial strategy from Arsene Wenger produced an absolutely stunning season where they went completely unbeaten back in 2003-04.
Studded with absolute gems like Bergkamp and Henry up front, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg marshalling the midfield and Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure making up the backline, it struck fear into the hearts of every Premier League team then. Yes, even Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team.
Yet, even this assortment of superstars would have failed miserably had it not been for the sheer cohesive force that is Patrick Vieira.
The Frenchman, playing as a holding midfielder, captained the team with decisiveness to glory. It absolutely did not hurt that he had a fantastic set of skills as well, an acute defensive mind being one of them.
In the present, however, the Gunners are anything but invincible, having fallen prey to a lackadaisical managerial board along with gaffers who had the wrong sort of vision for the team.
This has led to a massive slide in quality till the present, where they are now stuck all the way down in middle of the league table. Yet there seems to be signs of sustained recovery under Mikel Arteta, the former Gunner sparing no expense and scouting out players that he believes might fit the Arsenal philosophy.
Lately, it seems that he might have found his muse: Pape Gueye.
Now, Pape Gueye is far from a finished product: he is barely twenty one years of age. While he has not played a minute of top flight football, having been a midfielder with AC Le Havre, his style of play has earned him many plaudits from scouts around France.
The fact that he comes from the same club academy that produced stars like Paul Pogba and Dmitri Payet only proves as a point in his favour.
In fact, there are quite a few who draw similarities between his game and the great Vieira’s, which could only serve to excite Arsenal fans even more.
Now, with there being an almost-confirmed bid from the Gunners of £5 million, an atmosphere of anticipation seems to be building for the arrival of this guaranteed future star.
Things got even more exciting when fans of Arsenal midfielder and compatriot Matteo Guendouzi found that Gueye had posted a comment of appreciation under his latest Instagram post.
Now, it remains to be seen if Gueye can have even remotely as much of an impact as someone like Vieira had, if the lad decides to make the Emirates Stadium his home.
There is, however, no arguing over the fact that he definitely has a touch of class about him and would definitely be a handy inclusion in the Londoners’ rebuilding process.
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