Arsenal have reportedly seen a bid rejected for Milan left-back Ricardo Rodriguez.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the 25-year-old was the subject of an offer from the English Premier League club – but the San Siro club have turned it down.
Switzerland international Rodriguez, who featured at the recent World Cup in Russia, only joined the Rossoneri last summer from German side Wolfsburg. And after a season in which he made 47 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals, the Italian daily says the Diavolo have no intention of selling the player.
Arsenal received an injury setback with the news that Sead Kolasinac will miss eight to 10 weeks of the new season.
The left-back faces a stint on the sidelines as a result of the injury to his left knee sustained in Wednesday’s International Champions Cup match against Chelsea in Dublin.
Kolasinac was replaced 20 minutes from the end of the match, which Arsenal won on penalties. He is likely to miss at least seven Premier League matches, as well as two Europa League matches.
Born to a Spanish father and a Chilean mother of Basque descent, Rodríguez began his professional career at local club FC Zürich in 2010, having spent eight years in the youth setup. After breaking through into the first team at Zürich, Rodríguez was sold to VfL Wolfsburg in January 2012 for £7.5 million. He played 184 games across all competitions for Wolfsburg, scoring 22 goals and winning the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup in 2015. In 2017, he signed for A.C. Milan.
Rodríguez has earned caps at every level of the Swiss national team setup, winning the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2009. A full international for Switzerland since 2011, Rodríguez has earned over 40 caps for the country. He was part of the Swiss team at the 2012 Olympics, the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016. In 2014, he was voted Swiss Footballer of the Year.
Due to his wide range of skills, Rodríguez is known for being equally adept at defending as he is going forward.Although usually a left-back, his size and physique have also seen him be deployed as a centre-back on occasion. Experts consider him as an accomplished defender and note his strong heading ability, as well his personality.
He is also considered a continual attacking threat, and has been noted by analysts for his exceptional stamina and pace, which allow for his constant, buccaneering runs up the wing;he has also drawn praise from pundits for rarely conceding careless fouls. Conversely, he has been criticised for giving too much room to opposition attackers, taking up poor positioning and lacking in defensive discipline, while other analysts have criticised his concentration.
Possessing good technique and distribution, he has become known for his pinpoint crossing and accurate left foot, which have earned him comparisons with Everton and England left back Leighton Baines. He is also noted for his speciality in dead ball situations, such as corner kicks, direct free kicks, and indirect free kicks, as well as for his excellent penalty taking abilities, emerging as Wolfsburg’s first-choice penalty taker during the 2013–14 season. In 2014, his manager Dieter Hecking praised Rodríguez as “the best left-back in the Bundesliga”.