Arsenal have reportedly received a ‘positive report’ on Fenerbahce star Ferdi Kadioglu after they had him scouted on Saturday. While the Gunners lost to Newcastle in the Premier League, it is claimed one of their scouts watched the versatile Turkey international during the match against Trabzonspor.
Arsenal’s attentions were firmly on the first-team game at St James’ Park. Anthony Gordon’s controversial second-half goal sealed a 1-0 win for the Magpies.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta fumed at the decision to allow Gordon’s goal after a lengthy VAR check. Arsenal backed their manager less than 24 hours later in a statement demanding improvement in refereeing standards in the Premier League.
But while the match was going on, club matters away from the action continued. Arsenal have scouts dotted across Europe and one of them was in Turkey.
Fenerbahce played host to Trabzonspor in a Super Lig clash which started at 4pm, therefore not finishing until the game against Newcastle was well underway. And Turkish outlet Sports Digitale claims Kadioglu was one player Arsenal were looking at.
Kadioglu played the whole match as Fenerbahce fell to a 3-2 defeat, with former Gunners winger Nicolas Pepe on the scoresheet for Trabzonspor. The report claims Romain Poirot was the Arsenal scout in attendance and he had good things to say about the 24-year-old.
Kadioglu is a full-back who can play on both sides of defence, as well as in central midfield. The Dutch-born star joined Fenerbahce in 2018 and has won 13 caps for Turkey to date since making his debut last year.
He has made 164 appearances for Fenerbahce in all competitions, contributing 15 goals and 20 assists. Kadioglu still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract after signing a four-year extension in March 2022.
He may not be a name Arsenal fans have heard of but his profile makes him a typical Arteta signing. Arteta has targeted versatile players in recent windows, with Jurrien Timber the most recent example.
Timber can play in every position across the backline, as can Takehiro Tomiyasu. As is the modern way, Arteta wants his full-backs to invert.
Oleksandr Zinchenko was one of the first to do it having played in central midfield for parts of his club career, as well as for Ukraine. Kadioglu’s ability to play in midfield is a hint that he could be able to invert in Arteta’s system.
