Arsenal Face Competition From United for Napoli Midfielder Fabian Ruiz

According to reports in Italy, Arsenal are set to battle with rivals Manchester United for the signature of Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz. Both the English sides are looking to bring in midfield reinforcements this summer and the 26-year-old could serve as the ideal signing for either club.

Manager Mikel Arteta wants to sign a central midfielder who can bring in experience into his young side and also support Thomas Partey for the foreseeable future. The Gunners have been linked with a summer move for the likes of Fabian Ruiz, Youri Tielmans and Ruben Neves.

Manchester United, on the other hand, have a shortage of midfield options with the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic confirmed to leave the club at the end of this month. They have turned their attention towards Frenkie De Jong, Kalvin Philips, Kouadio Kone and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Fabian Ruiz, Napoli, Arsenal, Manchester United — Image obtained via Football-Espana

The Spanish midfielder has only a year left in his current contract Napoli. Moreover, Fabian Ruiz is looking for a move out of Italy this summer, having rejected a new contract from the Italian club, according to Il Mattino (via Football London), which certainly boosts the chances for Arsenal and United. Newcastle also offered to sign him in January but he rebuffed the move.

According to RAI journalist Ciro Venerato (via Football London), Arsenal and Manchester United are looking to battle it out to sign Fabian Ruiz this summer. The report also states that Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis will be willing to let the player leave for just £25million.

Speaking to La Domenica Sportive Estate, via Football London, Venerato said:

“De Laurentiis would like to give away Fabian Ruiz, valued at €30million (£25million). And, on him are Arsenal and Manchester United.”

Player Profile

Recruited by Napoli in 2018 for £30m from Real Betis, Fabian Ruiz has become one of the most influential midfielders in Serie A. He has played 32 games this season, getting seven goals and four assists (stats via Transfermarkt). Ruiz is known for his vision, passing, ball control and tactical versatility, having played in several formations like 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 under different managers. For boss Mikel Arteta who has an injury-prone midfield, this versatility to play in multiple positions will come in handy.

The 26-year-old deep-lying Spanish playmaker has been an integral part of Napoli’s attacking play. He has developed an understanding with his fellow midfielders in manager Luciano Spalletti’s set-up. The Spanish international is equally impressive as a central attacking midfielder, advancing beyond the opposing midfield to break the last line of defence by demonstrating a variety and range of passes. In attack, he favours low-driven balls to the strikers to allow them to take a touch and shoot.

Man Utd and Arsenal 'in for' Fabian Ruiz with Napoli happy to "get rid" this summer https://t.co/vSjvnmUgse pic.twitter.com/kvQKa7WD1J

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) May 30, 2022

If he is pressured by the opposition midfield, he has the composure to hold on to the ball till a teammate is in space, almost similar in ways to legend Xavi Hernandez during his Barcelona days. His penetrative instincts allow him to be an outlet for ball progression from defence to midfield. His ability to move the ball quickly and maintaining the tempo with proper ball circulation has always been good, even during his youth days for Spain U-17s.

Napoli were in the race for the Serie A title this season with the likes of AC Milan and Inter Milan, but fell off badly after the midfielder was sidelined with injury for a few months. The amount of points dropped during his injury period shows the importance of the player and his value to the squad.

Verdict

Arsenal have several deep midfield players such as Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny covering and shielding the defence. But getting the 26-year-old as a playmaker to support Martin Odegaard would take their play to a new dimension. It will roll back time to those days when the Gunners had Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla to support the likes of Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are also interested which would be favourable for the Spaniard as he gets to return to his home country while playing for a champion team. However, the Red Devils recently did business with Napoli involving Axel Tuanzebe which has built a line of communication among the the clubs. It can be exploited to get the signing done in their favour.

Arsenal should try everything they can to beat Manchester United and bring Fabian Ruiz to the Emirates because he could be the difference between finishing inside the top-four or outside.

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