Bender or Schneiderlin – Who would be the best target for Arsenal? Head to head analysis

Lars Bender, 25 years old, Bayer Leverkusen

Position

"#6" or "#8", rather the latter. Can be seen as a defensive box-to-box. He can play as CM (e.g in a 4-2-3-1) or be the "Anchor Man" of his team (e.g in a 4-3-3). He can also help out as "Right Back", especially with Germany under the rule of J. Low.

Profile

He is known for his incredible stamina and his great mobility. In terms of pressing, Bender presses and harasses his opponents therefore has a high work rate. The German's profile is fruitful when the team is defending or facing a counter-attack since he can cover a large amount of space on the pitch. In addition, on several occasions, in the manner of Flamini tends to do, he supports the winger and the full back by covering the flank and blocking the connexions with the other players. Additionally, Bender is a good tackler and has the 3rd highest rate of the Bundesliga (3.8 tackles per game).

However, Bender is not very quick, his pace is low and although he manages to get into good positions to make up for it, it can turn out to be a relatively important defect. Besides, his physicality is not one of his assets.

Nonetheless, Bender's role is interesting because he can sit deep (or deeper than the other players in the midfield) and pass the ball from that area. But you cannot see him as a "Deep Playmaker" following the example of Arteta. On the other hand, he is efficient with long-balls and crosses and since Leverkusen play a lot vertically, he could help Arsenal direct the game to the wings should he join them.