LAZIO MAKE MARC ON OVERMARS

The attacking midfielder was a consistent performer for the Gunners during his first two seasons and despite a drop in form last year, has regularly tormented Premiership defences. With the north London outfit looking to make a renewed assault on the title next season, how big a loss would Overmars prove to be?

Arsene Wenger made an astute purchase when he brought Overmars from Dutch giants Ajax for £7 million back in June 1997. The pacey winger enjoyed his most prolific league season in the red and white shirt netting 12 times as Arsenal brought the league title back to London. Overmars slid home a trademark goal in the Championship winning game against Everton - a storming run culminating in a tidy finish. The pinnacle of his first season in English football was achieved when he scored the first goal in Arsenal`s 2-0 FA Cup final win over Newcastle.

While Overmars` league scoring form waned in the two seasons that followed, his industry thrived as he turned goal maker for the likes of Nicolas Anelka during the 1998-99 campaign and similarly for Thierry Henry during 1999-2000. Both young Frenchman bagged 17 league goals apiece as Overmars weighed in with seven and eight goal assists in each season respectively.

Injury restricted Overmars to 20 starts last season, but he demonstrated that he is an integral part of the Arsenal set-up. Playing fewer minutes than in either of his previous two seasons in the Premiership, he fired in 61 shots - half of which tested the keeper.

Renowned for his speedy runs down the wing, the Dutchman beat his man 72% of the time during the 1999-2000 season, which was the average rate for a player in his position. This was a welcome success for Overmars who completed just 64% of his dribbles in 1998-99, although he attempted the fifth highest number in the Premiership. When he did skip past a challenge, Overmars demonstrated deadly accuracy with his centres. He has been a consistent source of ammunition over the three seasons and his precision was evident last term as he flighted over 98 crosses with an impressive 29% success rate.

The Dutchman has proved to be composed on the ball and intelligent with his distribution. His pass completion rate was at its lowest last season - despite recording an admirable 72% - but he attempted his fewest number of passes since arriving at Highbury.

Following Arsenal`s disappointing displays in Europe`s top competition, the lure of Champions League success with Lazio may prove too enticing for Arsenal to combat and for Overmars to resist. Having won the European Cup with Ajax in 1995, Overmars has had a taste of glory and a change of club may be necessary if he is to win domestic football`s biggest prize again.

There is no doubting that the Gunners would miss the marauding runs and threat that one of their key assets possesses. However, the 27-year-old international is not irreplaceable and for a reported £16 million, Arsenal would more than double their initial outlay.

Mark Willis