Journalist Darren Lewis has given his thoughts on Arsenal and their pursuit of Dusan Vlahovic.
The Serbian is certainly a forward who is in high demand right now, with a number of clubs reportedly showing an interest in fighting for his signature, including Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
A recent report in The Athletic claimed: “If the 21-year-old is to move in January then, as things stand, Arsenal are in the strongest position to sign him. That is because they are thought to be the best placed of Vlahovic’s current suitors when it comes to both the fee and salary.”
Talking about the forward on the TalkSport GameDay podcast, Lewis praised the Serbian and felt like there might be a specific reason as to why the Gunners are looking to buy him, hinting that it might lead to the end of a couple of players’ time at the Emirates Stadium, whilst offering an opportunity to develop something new at the club.
Lewis said: “He’s got a fantastic record so far this season goals-wise. He’s a young boy with his best years ahead of him. And obviously, it would explain why Arteta’s been so keen to bin off [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang and that [Alexandre] Lacazette hasn’t been handed a new deal as yet.
“Arteta’s obviously looking at a new strike force of Vlahovic and [Gabriel] Martinelli, which on paper – and obviously, what we’ve seen of Martinelli’s improvement so far this season – looks very exciting indeed.”
TIF Thoughts on Darren Lewis’ comments about Arsenal and Dusan Vlahovic…
Is Vlahovic a realistic target?
Yes
No
Based on his goal record at current club Fiorentina, with 47 goals in 106 appearances, Vlahovic certainly does know where the goal is, and if he was able to recreate that form at Arsenal, then they would be onto a winner with the 21-year-old.
And it certainly would fit in with Arsenal’s recent policy of building around their young players, both from their own academy and through the transfer market, with the club having not bought anyone over the age of 23 in the last summer transfer window.
So Lewis might be onto something here when it comes to his thoughts on Vlahovic and Arsenal, but whether or not they’ll be able to tempt him away from the other contenders – especially with European football for next season not a guarantee at this point – will be a different matter entirely.
In other news: ‘Could tick a couple of boxes’ – Arsenal reporter drops claim on 30 y/o Arteta’s ‘raving about’