‘Garbage’: National media give 27-year-old Arsenal want to sign mixed reviews after World Cup display
The French media have given reported Arsenal target Adrien Rabiot mixed reviews after his World Cup display for France last night.
Bukayo Saka suffered heartbreak as England lost 2-1 to Didier Deschamps’ men in the quarter-finals last night.
The Gunners youngster was arguably the Three Lions’ best player on the night as he caused the French defenders big problems.
The 21-year-old won the penalty which Harry Kane converted to level the game up. But Olivier Giroud’s header proved to be the winner as Kane missed his second spot-kick of the game.
Mikel Arteta’s men have been linked with several midfielders ahead of the January window and one was in action for France last night.
Calciomercato reported last month that the Gunners are ready to offer Rabiot the terms he is looking for to move away from Juventus.
And the 27-year-old received mixed reviews from French media outlets after his display against England last night.
French media on Rabiot
Rabiot partnered Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield and has enjoyed a brilliant World Cup campaign so far.
But the Juve man struggled to make an impact on the game yesterday and gave the ball away frequently while being pressured by England’s midfield.
Sans Filtre gave Rabiot a six out 10 and while they feel he was dispossessed too often, they did praise his work-rate.
“He and Tchouaméni will have had a hard time in this meeting. Faced with English pressure, he lost a number of balls,” the outlet wrote.
“Anyway, he fought throughout the 90 minutes, with a lot of intensity. He could even have scored a goal (54′). He had garbage but he was very generous in his efforts, and we needed it.”
Goal.fr handed the Juve man a five out of 10 and said his display was below-par in comparison to his form over the rest of the tournament.
They said: “Like Tchouaméni, he was less radiant than usual. He still brought offensively with a nice projection (15th) then a nice shot pushed away by Pickford (55th).”
He received a far more positive review from Footmercato though, who handed him a seven out of 10.
“The Juventus player was valuable in the Blues’ midfield even if he started his match with a dangerous ball loss (14th). In the aftermath, he followed with a very good recovery but the former Parisian did not shoot and preferred to save for Mbappé, a shame (15th).
“The 27-year-old shone on the midfield in the first half. After the break, he made another good intervention to recover the ball and launch the counterattack (56th). He was less flamboyant in the second half.”
France were largely second best last night but managed to grind out a result against England.
Rabiot had a quiet night but he has impressed on the whole throughout France’s run to the semi-finals.
The Gunners are certainly in need of bolstering Arteta’s options in midfield but after Gabriel Jesus’ injury, they may be prioritising signing another forward player in January.
