xGunners: Arsenal eye Kerem Demirbay as Ramsey replacement

Arsenal are going to have a very difficult time replacing Aaron Ramsey in the summer.

Ramsey is an incredibly unique player, especially for his ability to get shots in dangerous positions from open play while playing from central midfield while also being able to contribute on the defensive side of the ball.

There are interesting rumors about Hoffenheim midfielder Kerem Demirbay, with the latest coming from fussball.news. The rumors aren’t especially fresh with interest dating back to 2018 but it is reported by Sport Bild that he has a £28 million release clause which in this market looks to be a relative bargain for a Premier League club.

Demirbay plays as central midfielder (with the ability to go deeper or further forward) and puts up some impressive creative numbers while also showing pretty good all around numbers.

If he came to Arsenal his creative duties probably wouldn’t be nearly as required but it might open up opportunities for Arsenal to play a player on the wing that is more focused on getting shots versus creating for others.

One of the other things with his creative numbers is that quite a bit of that comes from being the main set piece taker. He has 68 key passes this season but 33 have come from set plays. His xG assisted is similar with 43% of his 7.5 xA coming from set plays. This isn’t a knock on creating from set plays, but it is something that will likely change if he were to come to Arsenal.

Overall with his time at Hoffenheim he has been a very good player. He would certainly be a different type of player to Ramsey but with rumored release clause he is the type of player that fits into Arsenal’s budget and would be useful addition to the midfielders.