After the Arsenal midfield struggled in the first half of the English Premier League match against Liverpool, the inevitable result was going to be calls for Arsene Wenger to sign that "big, physical and intimidating" defensive midfielder.
Francis Coquelin actually made quite a few vital interceptions and tackles in that game, after Arsenal, time and again, gave the ball away in dangerous areas, but that did not stop the likes of Gary Neville from accusing Wenger of ignoring the "problem position" of defensive midfield.
The consensus apparently is Arsenal will only win the Premier League title if they sign someone physical and intimidating in the middle.
And that man could reportedly be Grzegorz Krychowiak, with Arsenal ready to trigger the Sevilla midfielder's buyout clause of £21million, according to the Independent.
With Wenger having plenty of money to spend if he needs to, the amount should not be a problem at all, with the Arsenal manager only left with the decision to make on whether another defensive midfielder is required.
William Carvalho is thought to be Arsenal's number one choice for that position, but any chances of the club signing the Portugal international from Sporting Lisbon diminished when the midfielder picked up a long-term injury.
Arsenal have also struggled to agree on a fee with Sporting over Carvalho, with the Portuguese club reportedly asking for a fee in excess of £30million.
Carvalho definitely has those physical qualities that Neville was espousing about when criticising Arsenal's performance against Liverpool, and Wenger might just be prepared to wait for Carvalho to recover from his injury and maybe make a bid in the January transfer window.
However, with Arsenal making an iffy start to their Premier league season – they only have a win and a draw from their opening three matches -- Wenger might still be forced to look elsewhere – at someone like Krychowiak or the Bender brothers Lars and Sven – before the summer transfer window closes next Tuesday.
Wenger has become a bit of a master at pulling off last minute deals in recent seasons, with Arsenal signing Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck from Real Madrid and Manchester United on deadline day in the past two seasons, and the feeling is another signing (or two) could be on the way late again.
Who that might be, only the Arsenal manager knows.
