How does Arturo Vidal fit in to Bayern Munich's plans?

Leanne Daddia
27 July 2015

Arturo Vidal adds to an already jam packed Bayern Munich midfield

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Too much of a good thing is supposed to be bad for you. However, when it comes to Bayern Munich and central midfielders it would appear to be a case of the more the merrier for the German side following the arrival of Arturo Vidal.

Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez, Xabi Alonso, Sebastian Rode and Mario Gotze will all be expecting to feature for Bayern in midfield this season, while youngster Pierre Højbjerg will be hoping for some game time after impressing on loan at Augsburg last season.

The Bavarians could have probably coped with the loss of Bastian Schweingsteiger following his move to Manchester United but have instead opted to bring in one of the world's best players in his position.

Boss Pep Guardiola already has arguably the best collection of midfielders in European football and the question now is how he will keep all of them happy, especially given his preference to play 4-3-3.

Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez, Xabi Alonso, Sebastian Rode and Mario Gotze will all be expecting to feature for Bayern in midfield this season, while youngster Pierre Højbjerg will be hoping for some game time after impressing on loan at Augsburg last season.

Philip Lahm and David Alaba have also impressed in the middle of the park under the Spaniard, giving Guardiola more than enough options to cope with even the worst injury crisis.

However, when everyone is fit one would have to imagine Vidal will be a first-choice given he has been one of the driving forces behind Juventus' success in recent years.

The 28-year-old also caught the eye in Chile's Copa America triumph, his all-action style winning him plenty of fans in world football.

Guardiola's job will be making sure he can channel Vidal's exuberance in the right direction, the fiery South American having lost his head in his last game for Juve, the Champions League final, as he came within a whisker of being given his marching orders.

However, his recklessness aside, Vidal would appear to be the perfect fit in a midfield who love to constantly press the opposition.

Such is the quality of Vidal that Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has already conceded defeat in the fight for the next two Bundesliga titles, claiming Bayern can not be stopped with the Chilean now amongst their ranks.

Certainly just based upon the midfield alone it would appear no one can stop Bayern recording a fourth successive German title this season but in the final third questions still remain about their strength in depth.

The addition of Douglas Costa - the man tipped to succeed Arjen Robben at the Allianz Arena - will certainly help but given the injury issues Bayern had with Robben and Ribery last season it would appear they could be light on numbers up top.

Those issues could be exasperated should the Bavarians lose either Thomas Muller or Robert Lewandowski this summer, with both players being linked with moves elsewhere.

Muller, in particular, is a wanted man as Manchester United continue to be linked with a move, and his absence would be tough to cope with were he to move on.

The Germany international has a habit of getting clutch goals for Bayern, finding the back of the net 21 times in all competitions last season.

As well as his goals, Muller's versatility makes him a vital cog in Guardiola's set-up.

While Bayern were able to purchase an upgrade on Schweinsteiger by bringing in Vidal, it is tough to see where Bayern would find a player better than Muller were they to let him go.

Therefore, if the reports are to be believed, Guardiola needs to rebuild his relationship with Muller quickly or risk this summer being a case of one step forward followed by one step back in his quest to turn Bayern into Europe's dominant force.

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