Report: Arsenal set sights on truly ‘complete’ £18m midfielder who ‘knows how to do everything’

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Arsenal have set their sights on Lens midfielder Cheick Doucoure, according to The Mirror.

The Gunners are looking to bolster their ranks ahead of next season’s return to European action.

Arsenal will complete in the Europa League next term, and as such need more strength in depth.

Mohamed Elneny has penned a new contract, but there’s still scope for the Gunners to strengthen their midfield.

And Doucoure looks like a good shout for an Arsenal side eager to kick on after finishing fifth last term.

The 22-year-old joined the Lens setup from AS Real Bamako in 2018 and has become one of their star players.

Doucoure made 37 appearances last term, including 34 in Ligue 1 as his side finished seventh.

He has also won eight caps for Mali and played at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

‘He’s incredibly complete’

“Cheick knows how to do everything on the pitch,” football.london quotes Lens teammate and captain Seko Fofana as saying.

“He works in the shadows and, for me, he is very important. He’s incredibly complete. He’s one of the best players I’ve played with.

“He knows how to shoot from distance, how to pass, break the lines, dribble and defend.”

However, Arsenal aren’t the only club reportedly eyeing Doucoure.

As well as the Gunners, the likes of Brighton, Crystal Palace and Everton are apparently in pursuit.

The Mirror speculates that, while Transfermarkt lists Doucoure’s value at £9million, he could go for £18million.

‘Doucoure is valued at £9million by Transfermarkt,’ they wrote. ‘Though a bid of almost double that could arrive given how sought after the midfielder has become and the competition to secure his signature.’

‘An incredibly underrated talent’

In February 2021, scouting website Breaking the Lines wrote a comprehensive report on Doucoure.

‘If there’s a stylistic summary for you to take away from this article, let it be this,’ they wrote.

‘Cheick Doucoure works incredibly hard, covering large areas of the pitch in both a defensive and attacking sense, but he’s also both technically and mentally very acute.

‘His concentration and defensive awareness to proactively disrupt the opposition and retain possession in a simple but highly effective manner make him an incredibly underrated talent emerging from France.

‘He can also test the goalkeeper with well-struck curling efforts, as (Dimitry) Bertaud, Anthony Lopes and Denis Petric have found out in recent weeks.’