Arsenal have always had a habit of chasing European football’s brightest and best. Arsene Wenger’s busy looking for success in the here and now, but he also always seems to keep one eye on the future. There’s a reason why he’s currently the longest serving Premier League manager (and why he’s consistently been able to qualify for the Champions League) – he’s kept his team competitive by planning ahead.
Given The Gunners tepid start to the season, most fans will feel that The Professor should be chasing big names, rather than the stars of the future. But let’s face facts: Arsenal have a lot of different players jostling for position at the moment (particularly in attacking positions). Adding more experience to this squad could create some real issues.
As such, it really wouldn’t surprise me if Arsene Wenger were to target some youthful players during the January transfer window.
This brings me neatly onto The Metro‘s claim that Arsenal are interested in signing PSV’s well-regarded starlet Zakaria Bakkali. Unfortunately, it looks like Chelsea are favourites to sign him. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised: Bakkali has been labelled ‘the new Eden Hazard’ after all.
The Belgian ace is just 18-years-old, but he’s already inordinately talented. He’s got plenty of technical ability, he’s good on the ball, difficult to dispossess and direct. He made 22 appearances for PSV last year and managed to find the back of the net 4 times. That’s not too shabby for a young player.
He’s only got a year left on his contract for the Dutch side, so he’ll be available as part of a free transfer from next summer (providing he doesn’t agree a new deal with his current employers).
In many ways Bakkali strikes me as the ultimate Arsenal signing. He’s talented, he’s young and he’s cheap. Why wouldn’t Arsene Wenger want to seal the deal? Let’s just hope that he’s able to beat Jose Mourinho to the punch.
What’s your take? Should Arsenal really be chasing youngsters whilst they have so many issues prevalent within their first team squad? Does Zakaria Bakkali look like a good option?
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