Arsenal have received a massive boost in pursuit of Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote as reports from English tabloid Telegraph suggest that the Ivory Coaat International has already expressed his desire to leave his current club. The 28 year old told reporters, “I’ve decided to leave. I‘ve spent four years with Newcastle. I think I have reached a stage where it’s maybe time to look elsewhere for a new challenge.”
Tiote’s decision throws yet another blow to manager Alan Pardew who is himself on the verge of losing his job. The Tyneside outfit sit joint bottom in the Premier League standings and Pardew faces a do or die encounter against Swansea City in the weekend.
Tiote though has decided to pursue his career elsewhere. “I will focus on upcoming games and let’s see what happens between now and December.” The player however reckons that he would like to continue playing in England and claims that Arsenal kept tabs on him in the past summer window. Tiote though has a contract with the Magpies till the summer of 2017.
“It is true there were contacts for me from Arsenal and a club in Russia. I’d prefer to stay in England.”
The Gunners would very well so with Tiote in his squad, the midfielder who would be a massive upgrade over the faltering Mathieu Flamini and the error prone Mikel Arteta. Both of the defensive midfielders aren’t possibly a great fit in the starting eleven. The midfielder has brilliant tackling abilities who can screen the back four and would provide great quality going up front. Tiote would also be significantly cheaper that the London side’s prime target, Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho.