Chelsea and Arsenal target Marcus Thuram shines in M'Gladbach's 0-0 draw

Chelsea and Arsenal target Marcus Thuram did everything but score as Monchengladbach were held to an unspectacular 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga yesterday.

Scoring a goal is not synonymous with playing well and vice-versa. If a striker fires a blank that doesn't mean he had a game to forget.

And Thuram, who is out of contract in the summer and will famously not renew, gave a good account of himself throughout thanks to his liveliness, movement and ability to pick the right pass.

Had Alassane Plea had his shooting boots on he'd also have had two assists two his name and been the game's MVP.

Make no mistake, Thuram had two chances to score himself. First he saw a low strike pushed away by Dutch international goalkeeper Mark Flekken before heading wide from a good position. Yet he proved that he's so much more than a simple poacher when he twice set up Plea, only for his countryman to squander either of those on-the-money passes.

First the son of legendary 1998 World Cup winner Lilian efficiently wriggled clear of his marker before playing a perfect ball to his countryman who fired straight at Flekken. And after the restart, the ex-Nice striker skied a fabulous cutback after Thuram stretched the entire Freiburg backline. Football is a sport where every detail counts and Moenchengladbach didn't get them right in yesterday's drab draw. That it wasn't meant to be became evident when the referee overturned his penalty decision as Thuram was adjudged to have dived. In the end strikers get judged by goals but Thuram is a different type of striker who may not score goals for fun but always works hard for the team. His style of play would suit both Arsenal and Chelsea ...as neither side have an all-round centre-forward like him if we don't count Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is unlikely to stay in London beyond June.