Arsenal Incar Manu Kone Usai Raih Pujian Patrick Vieira

Klub Liga Primer Inggris Arsenal kini memimpin perburuan untuk mendatangkan gelandang AS Roma, Manu Kone, setelah sang pemain mendapatkan pujian tinggi dari Patrick Vieira pada Jumat, 26 Juni 2026.

Langkah Arsenal untuk merekrut pemain berusia 25 tahun itu memicu persaingan dengan Inter Milan, di mana Roma menetapkan harga minimal sebesar 50 juta euro demi menyeimbangkan pembukuan keuangan mereka sebelum 30 Juni.

Penampilan Kone di Serie A musim ini tercatat cukup solid dengan sumbangan dua gol dan tiga asis dari 29 laga, yang sekaligus membantu Roma mengamankan posisi ketiga di klasemen akhir.

Legenda Arsenal, Patrick Vieira, memberikan apresiasi mendalam terhadap kapasitas Kone di lini tengah saat bertugas sebagai komentator di saluran ITV Football menjelang laga Prancis melawan Norwegia.

"He has come into the World Cup with a couple of injuries and it has been a quite difficult season for him," kata Patrick Vieira, mantan kapten Arsenal.

"But he is for me, the best midfielder in France today. I would put him ahead of Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot because he has got this mobility to move around the pitch. He is aggressive, he is a ball winner and he has got this technical ability to be part of the build-up. He can break lines and play forward."

Vieira juga menolak label kurang berkembang yang sering disematkan kepada pemain bertipe perusak tempo di lini tengah.

"I had a really good season in Serie A with Roma. He came to the World Cup after a couple of injuries," ujar Patrick Vieira menambahkan.

"He is for me today the best midfielder in France. I’d put him ahead of Tchaouameni and Rabiot, because he has this mobility, he is aggressive, he is a ball-winner, and he has the technical ability to be part of the build-up, has the facility with the ball to break lines and move forward."

Kritik tak langsung juga dialamatkan Vieira kepada opsi gelandang timnas Prancis lainnya yang dianggap bermain kurang efektif.

"I don’t really like that word, water carrier. He will win the ball, but he has something more than the others, as he can play forward. Sometimes Tchouameni can give you a little bit of frustration, too many passes sideways or backwards, but he’s got more passes going forward," tegas Patrick Vieira.

Di sisi lain, Kone menyatakan bahwa dirinya tidak ingin terganggu oleh rumor pasar transfer yang mengaitkan namanya dengan klub-klub raksasa Inggris maupun Italia sebelum laga pembuka melawan Senegal.

"Honestly, right now I’m only thinking about the World Cup," ungkap Manu Kone, gelandang AS Roma.

"It’s my first major international competition, a tournament I’ve always dreamed of playing in. I want to remain exclusively focused on this. We’ll talk about the future after the World Cup and see what happens."