Last season, Gabriel Martinelli was not at his best, but thanks to Leandro Trossard, the Belgian star stepped up and ensured the Arsenal left wing’s offensive threat remained. Looking at Trossard efficiently covering for Martinelli, you may understandably look at the right wing and wish Bukayo Saka could have his own Trossard.
If Arsenal want a Trossard-type player on the right wing, they can’t go wrong by signing Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen. FBref evaluates players and groups based on their similarities, and in Malen’s case, they claim he is quite comparable to Trossard.
Looking at the table below, they are absolutely correct; the Dutchman provides nearly the same impact in the final third as Trossard.
Notably According to Bild, Arsenal is interested in Malen, and the German club is likely to consent to his transfer for £34 million.
While it may seem excessive to pay that much for a backup player, the potential benefits of the deal for Arsenal could justify it. Saka may not be at his best physically after playing more than 60 games between last season and the Euro finals. Managing Saka’s game time early in the season could be necessary to ease him into the team and prevent burnout; in this scenario, we would need a top player like Malen to fill in for him.
The Bundesliga star, who previously played for Arsenal, might be the ideal choice for Mikel Arteta to provide Saka with much needed rest. Despite his perceived role as a backup if he joins, his 15 goals and 5 assists in 38 games last season suggest he could pose a similar goal threat to Trossard on the field.
Sam P
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Give it to our youngster. We need to develop a new name from inside
Yet another player for Arsenal to buy? They haven’t concluded the purchase of Calafiori yet. Nor have they sold anyone – from quite a long list – for actual money “up front” either.
Let’s get the deals in the pipeline done – both buying and selling – first.
Similar stats playing in an inferior league. Guy looks about 45 and running on his last drops of testosterone.
arsenal is need much need perfect sporting director edu is the most overrated see dan ashworth at man utd how he completed deals and persuade yoro from the nose of madrid not bologna edu is not good enough to arsenal
Man united are buying players who cant even get in there national teams. No top player playing in the Euros or Copa America has moved clubs so far. We require players at the highest quality. We are trying to win the league not get back into the top 4.
Arsenal need to do than Malen to really improve the team, it is not just matter of buying any number of players and hoping for the best (refer to the raging debate on another thread), Arsenal need to be very selective with their recruitment in this position and every position
if feels like Sesko staying in Germany has thrown Arsenal’s recruitment strategy in to disarray, does Arsenal wait until next year and cope with what we have or go for an alternative (if Sesko had chosen Real or Barca then decision is clearer)
as every day goes by a big-name striker seems less likely, may be a surprise from nowhere (few were talking about Calafiori just 2 months ago), or a versatile stop gap
Eze feels like prospect in that scenario, can cover for Saka on wings, and also Oedgaard in attacking midfield, and PL proven goal scorer (not to be under estimated)
but Malen, no, short of the quality Arsenal need now to improve the squad
We need to pull out all the stops to get Eze. I believe he could be the key to unlocking the full potential of the players around him and having an unstoppable team. These next few weeks may be very interesting and as you noted quite surprising.
We don’t need to bring in average players to increase the headcount. We need class players who compete and rotate, something that Pep does very well.
we can easily give Ethan Nw some game time to ease the
burden from Saka..
Arsenal are in the same place they were six years ago; good enough for top four, but securing excellence all the way across the first XI, and then having quality reserves in each position remains elusive.
At goalkeeper, Arsenal looked all set, but Ramsdale was frozen out despite four straight wins to begin the season when Raya was signed and it has affected him.
Across the back line, Arteta is trying to recreate Manchester City’s approach, but cannot quite get the personnel right.
White, Saliba, Magahaes, Kiwior
Tomiyasu, Timber Kiwior, Tierney & Zinchenko
On paper it looks solid enough, but in practice, not so much. Tomiyasu has proven fragile, Timber got hurt right off, Kiwior is out of his depth, Tierney has been pushed aside despite playing well when not injured, and Zinchenko makes a good squad player, but shows his flaws as a member of the first XI. Arteta keeps signing players who are versatile, instead of specialists – the phrase jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none comes to mind. White, Timber, Kiwior, and Zinchenko are all ‘tweeners – and only white has shown the ability to play in his secondary position at right back at a high enough level to support a title challenge.
In central midfield, Arsenal have a lot of quality, but could use one more player (or two if Partey leaves.
Rice, Jorginho, and Partey are all good players. When healthy. When Rice and Partey play together, they are unbeaten. Jorginho is an able back up at defensive midfield, but Partey has missed large parts of every season since signing with the Gunners. The issue is, can Arsenal sign anyone better, and can they add depth behind rice in central midfield; someone to come in alongside him when Arsenal need a goal.
Arsenal also need an attacking midfielder to rotate for Odegaard. Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira are both capable in that position, but Arteta has no use for either of them, and seems unwilling to rotate Odegaard, which makes signing a deputy for him next to impossible. No player good enough to play for Arsenal in the role would sign after seeing how Smith Rowe and Vieira, both good players, were frozen out.
In the wide forward areas, Arsenal are two deep on the left with Martinelli, Trossard, but as noted, lack depth. The issue with the proposed signings is, Arsenal can’t get Malen to play behind a player who never comes off the field. A player in his prime that plays 2,000 minutes for Dortmund is not going to come to Arsenal to play 500 minutes in a substitute role. Man City can get players to accept those roels because the wages are astronomical and the club plays deep into every competition so even players on the fringes have opportunities. At Arsenal, being on the fringes means you never play.
At Striker Arsenal are beyond redemption, and it’s cost them two titles. The three players in the role they have are all flawed. Gabriel Jesus is the best goal scorer of the three, but is oft-injured and less clinical than a true center forward. He works hard, does all the things a good striker does, but he typically scores 8-12 goals a season due to injury and cold streaks. Eddie Nketiah is a good player, but he’s a poacher. He does not create his own opportunities, and he does not play well as a substitute, which limits his value. Kai Havertz, Arteta’s current flavor of the month, is showing he is the same player Chelsea found wanting. He is a good player, and as an attacking midfielder, he’s excellent. Sadly, for Havertz, Arsenal already have a better player in that role. As a striker, Havertz is a 12-15 goal per season scorer. which if 5 too few. Something to consider is, are strikers finding it hard to score for Arsenal because of their lack of ability, or is it the way the team play? With Saka, Trossard, Martinelli, and Odegaard all looking to score, are there enough balls to go around for a true center forward? I