Chelsea have agreed to a £30 million deal for Willian pending a work permit hearing. The Brazilian ads to a roster already filled with a wealth of attacking midfield options. The Brazilian played on the left side of a 4-2-3-1 formation at Shakhtar Donetsk, who advanced from the group stages of last season's Champions League at Chelsea's expense, before moving in January to Anzhi Makhachkala. If the deal goes through he joins Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle, Oscar and Victor Moses in competing for the three attacking midfield spots Mourinho will generally play in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation.

So what would Willian's arrival mean for the attacking midfielders already on the books at Chelsea? In a preseason press conference Mourinho stated how important it was for him to have depth in the attacking midfield spots.

"We will have Schurrle, De Bruyne, Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Moses for these three positions and so we have more options than Chelsea had in the last year. These are crucial positions for me. I like these players to play with high intensity so to have five players for three positions is, I think brilliant for me."

He actually named six players, Willian will be the seventh. With Chelsea once again competing on several fronts this season and Mourinho's desire for depth in those positions, there will be plenty of squad rotation so most of those seven will likely play significant minutes.

If there is an odd man out it is almost certainly Victor Moses. He's the only one of the seven that can't also play centrally in behind the striker. Although he's the only true out and out winger of the bunch, Hazard and Schurrle both have the pace to beat opponents 1 v 1 in the channels and get balls into the box if Chelsea need to play with more width and they're also more dynamic coming inside. Mourinho prefers his wide attackers to have the versatility to come inside and combine short passes with the central attacker and forward. Oscar, Schrurrle, Hazard, Mata, De Bruyne and Willian are all more suited to pinching inside from the wings than Moses. I'd be surprised if the Nigerian wasn't sold or loaned out before the end of the transfer window.

Based on the first two games of the season, it appears Mourinho prefers Oscar in the central role, although Chelsea are very fluid and at different times against Aston Villa Hazard played off the forward in the middle. Interestingly, Mata was the third attacking midfield starter that game and spent all his time on the left or right flank. Mata has been Chelsea's best player by some distance the last two seasons playing in the #10 role. For all Mourinho's assurances Mata is part of his plans, it does not appear those plans include playing Mata in his favored position just off the striker. The diminutive Spaniard looked out of sorts in his wide role against Villa and as a big fan of his, I fear he is not suited for Mourinho's style and won't have near the impact he did the previous two seasons. He was subbed off for Schurrle in the 65th minute and my suspicion is that Mourinho prefers De Bruyne and Schurrle to partner with Oscar and Hazard over Mata.

It'll be also be interesting to see how the move impacts Hazard given both his and Willian's main position is on the left side of a front 3. I'd expect Hazard and Oscar to finish the season with the most appearances of the seven but it's difficult to predict where exactly everyone will play. Regardless, Mourinho has an enviable array of attacking midfielders and his most difficult task may be keeping them all happy.

When Arsene Wenger's lineup for Arsenal's FA Cup replay with Swansea revealed Jack Wilshere would likely be playing as the most advanced midfielder, with Santi Cazorla shifting to the left wing, I was admittedly skeptical of the effectiveness of the change. I realize it's a shift some Arsenal fans have been calling for for some time- many believe Wilshere's best position is the #10 role and Cazorla excelled mostly as a winger prior to joining Arsenal.

However, I've always been impressed with Cazorla's clever movement and ability to find space between the opposition defense and midfield when he plays centrally off a main striker. That Wilshere is already a very good player with loads of potential is clear, but I thought the Gunners would miss Cazorla's close control and passing vision in crowded spaces around the box. Wilshere, I thought, was the archetypal box-to-box midfielder, strong in the tackle, energetic, able to beat opponents with his dribbling and possessing a wide range of passes. Playing him off of the striker, I assumed,

Wilshere injected a directness and pace into Arsenal attacks they don't possess when Cazorla plays attacking midfield. Time and again last night he was able to get the ball in the final third, turn and use his pace and skill to advance beyond Swansea's two holding midfielders. This would force one of Swansea's center backs to step to him and leave space for balls to be slotted through to Giroud, Walcott and Cazorla. A combination of poor finishing, bad luck and last ditch Swansea defending kept Arsenal off the scoreboard for 86 minutes (before Wilshere himself broke the deadlock) but Wilshere was creating good goalscoring chances seemingly at will.

Cazorla plays patiently as the #10, keeping hold of the ball and waiting for angles in which he can use his excellent vision to provide defense splitting passes. He sets a patient tempo to the Gunner's buildup play, allowing them to get numbers forward and play intricate passing combinations around the penalty area. At times this style works excellently but it can also allow the opposition time to recover into deep, compact defensive positions where they can prevent gaps from opening up for Arsenal to play balls in behind.

Wilshere's style is more explosive- he looks to receive the ball, beat a man and slip a teammate through on goal. With Wilshere as the #10, Arsenal's play in the attacking third is much more vertical and much faster. His first instinct when he gets on the ball is to face goal and run towards it. Anyone who has watched Lionel Messi knows that a central attacker who constantly looks to run towards goal at pace is a terrifying prospect. Although it would be ludicrous to compare Wilshere to the Ballon D'or winner at this stage in his career, he brings that same narrow-minded desire to get at the opponents goal Messi brings to Barcelona.

Of course this was just one game against a distracted opponent that was not at full strength. Against certain opponents Cazorla may well still be the better option at the #10 role. However, Wilshere's ability to play that position well will offer Arsenal a different option in that area of the field at a time when Cazorla's form has dropped over recent weeks. Since registering a hat trick and an assist in the Gunner's 5-2 win in December over Reading, he has just one assist and no goals in the last six games. The option of playing Wilshere higher up the field and Cazorla on a wing will allow Arsenal to alter it's approach in the final third and make them a less predictable opponent.