Former Premier League and European golden shoe winner Kevin Phillips has urged Mikel Arteta to move for Southampton captain, James Ward-Prowse, hailing the Englishman as the best set-piece in the world presently.
James Ward-Prowse of Southhampton is put under pressure by Mikel Arteta of Arsenal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Southampton at Emirates Stadium on September 15, 2012 in London, England. (Source: Clive Mason/Getty Images Europe)
Phillips, who was also a Southampton academy product like Ward-Prowse told Football Insider: “Ward-Prowse is the sort of player Arsenal need. Technically he is a very, very good player and he’s a dead-ball specialist.
“He’s the sort of player Arteta would love in his squad I imagine.”
Similarly, Gary Neville made the same comments on Friday Night Football, stating that “he could see” Ward-Prowse moving to a “big club.”
“Could they get him out of Southampton? That’s the question,” Phillips continued.
Last summer, Southampton had a bid 0f £25 million for the Midfielder from Aston Villa, which was eventually turned down and he went on to extending his contract until 2026 with the club.
Current seventh tie South Shield manager, Kevin added, “He just signed a new deal and I think he’s happy there. It would be a big test if Arsenal could knocking [sic] though. He could be persuaded to join.
“He’s a dead-ball specialist. He’s the sort of player Arteta would love in his squad I imagine. He’d compliment Partey well and let’s be honest, there’s not many better set-piece takers than him in the world.”
James Ward-Prowse of Southampton during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford on February 12, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Ward-Prowse has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League so far this term and has been very productive in front of goal with six in the league, two of which have come from direct free-kick while also bagging four assists.
The numbers are quite staggering compared to the Arsenal central Midfield duo of Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey, who have only three goal contributions between them in the league so far.
Surely Ward-Prowse will be a good addition for Mikel Arteta but it is still to be seen if the Spaniard will be interested in the 27year old, as it looks as if Arsenal are building a much younger squad.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
