What can Arsenal expect to see from Denis Suarez?

Way back in early January, Arsenal - the club that won’t go deep in the transfer market - started being linked with a loan move for Barcelona’s Denis Suarez. That move was (and is) complicated by the fact that Barcelona wanted to include an obligation - not an option, an obligation - for Arsenal to buy at the end of the loan period this summer, which is obviously a departure from the norm for these things.

Well, if internet rumors are to be believed, that departure might not be a dealbreaker. The Guardian is reporting today that a Suarez move is “close”, with the only sticking point being that purchase clause. Suarez himself reportedly prefers a move to Arsenal, which is why this has gone as far as it has, and if that desire is strong enough, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in red and white next week.

But what will we see if we do see him in Arsenal colors? Our old friend bozz, who follows La Liga in a lot more depth than most anybody who isn’t an Actual Journalist Person, had this to say about Suarez’ skillset:

“Can play out wide, though I like him more on the left than right. Good at receiving the ball between the lines and going right at his man. Can create and is a decent passer, not a great scorer.

Wouldn’t play him as a 10, so not an Özil replacement, and not really a B2B like Ramsey either. (He’s) your standard Spanish wide man in that he’s diminutive but skilled on the ball - Santi-lite from his younger days.”

As for how Arsenal would play with him in the lineup:

“In a 433? Depends on who’s opposite of him. If that’s Auba or Laca, then I’d expect the team to funnel it through Denis a little more, given he’s more of a facilitator than those two, but he’s by no means an Özil who’s always touching the ball and running the offense.”

So there you have it. Suarez would be an interesting pickup, for sure - we’ll see how it plays out in the next couple of days.