Riyad Mahrez is an Arsenal kind of player and that’s the problem

It’s easy to envisage Riyad Mahrez in an Arsenal shirt. There are certain players who just seem to inherently suit certain clubs, and in the case of the Algerian playmaker and the Gunners that is the case. Mahrez is perfect for Arsenal and Arsenal is perfect for Mahrez, making speculation linking the two somewhat unsurprising.

But their suitability shouldn’t be taken as an exclusively good thing for Arsenal. There might be a place for Mahrez in the Gunners’ starting lineup, on the right side of the club’s front four, yet that doesn’t necessarily mean that Arsene Wenger should make a move for the Leicester City man. Mahrez is an Arsenal kind of player, but that’s the problem.

As English football’s most tedious club, Arsenal need players who can change their identity and personality as a team. Too often Wenger’s Plan A is too similar to his Plan B, if he has one at all. The Gunners have followed the same trajectory for the past decade, playing the same way and achieving the same results, and so they must target players who can give them something different.

Mahrez, arguably the driving force behind Leicester City’s shock Premier League triumph, is an undoubtedly exceptional player and to an extent would improve Arsenal, filling something of a problem spot in their lineup. But he would do nothing to alter the identity of Wenger’s side. His signing would mean just more of the same, even if that is a slightly higher level of more of the same.

Jamie Vardy would have given them something different. He might not have been a first-team pick, but his qualities as a force on the counter-attack would have given Arsenal an additional dimension. It’s surely for this reason that Wenger made a move for the England international in the first place, recognising how he could give his team something they don’t already have.

Wenger’s reported tilt for Mahrez therefore makes little sense. The Algerian is likely to cost upwards of £40 million, with Leicester City especially reluctant to let the player leave following N’Golo Kante’s exit to Chelsea this summer. That money could be better spent elsewhere, on players who will go some way to changing Arsenal’s one-dimensional identity.

Reports of Mahrez’s impending switch to the Emirates Stadium have cooled since the weekend, with Claudio Ranieri seemingly unflustered by the prospect of his best, most creative player leaving the King Power Stadium. “I understand speculation, but that’s all it is,” the Italian shrugged after a friendly win over Celtic on Saturday. “Did you see how happy Riyad looked? He played well, he worked so hard for the team, he scored a goal. He stays with us. Of course. For us it’s very, very important to keep him because he is one of our stars. He is our fantasy, we can work hard but with him games change.”

Having already raked in £30 million for Kante this summer Leicester City are in a position to resist Arsenal’s overtures for Mahrez. That’s probably just as well for the Gunners because while Mahrez might be the perfect fit that doesn’t make him the perfect signing. In fact, he’s the type of signing that Wenger should be steering clear of.

Arsenal need to break from the mould that has restricted them so badly in recent years. If they are to spend big money in the transfer market this summer they must target players who can help them do that. Mahrez would probably help out Mesut Ozil in carrying the assists burden, giving the Gunners even more creativity around the edge of the penalty box, but he’s not the radical signing the club needs.

With Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all dramatically overhauling their squads ahead of the new season, Arsenal’s inactivity has only been accentuated. Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp too all have grand plans for their respective clubs, yet Wenger continues to do the same thing over and over again. The tedium continues.

In some ways Arsenal would be making a statement of intent should they sign Mahrez this summer. However, beneath the surface of what is immediately obvious the Algerian’s addition wouldn’t be so impressive. Nothing would underline that Arsenal are happy with more of the same like the signing of Mahrez.