Arsenal Transfer News: How Egyptian Defender Milo Would Fit in with the Gunners

Two months ago, Islam Mohamed Ramadan Rashd was a relative nobody (alright, a complete nobody), but now the 21-year-old defender is one of the hottest young prospects in the world.

Rashd, better known simply as Milo, burst onto the scene at the Toulon Tournament in France, impressing coaches and scouts alike. He augmented that momentum with another splendid performance at the 2012 Arab Nations Cup, proving that his earlier success was no fluke.

Now, with the Olympic Games––another shot to impress on a big stage––approaching, Milo is the subject of numerous European clubs' affection.

Sporting Lisbon, Befica and Lyon have had rumored interest for some time now, but in recent developments, Arsenal has emerged as the frontrunners to land Milo's services.

The source of Arsenal's interest is none other than Milo himself, whose full statement reads:

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“Arsenal officials have been following me since my participation in the Toulon tournament in 2009 ... And the English team got more interested in me after Toulon 2012 and I’m now waiting for their official letter.

“I will meet with the Haras Al Hodood officials before I leave with the Olympic squad on Thursday to understand their stance from this offer."

“I believe the Arsenal scouts will watch me closely at the London Olympics. My participation at London 2012 is what will determine my next step, and I hope to come to a European club.”

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But how would acquiring the precocious left-back actually help the Gunners? After all, he is awfully raw, and guaranteed to take some time adjusting to the English game, right?

Well, yes––but that doesn't mean his signing wouldn't be a huge coup.

The top of the Barclay's PL is currently divided into distinct tiers:

Tier 1: Manchester City, Manchester United

Tier 2: Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle

Tier 3: Everton, Liverpool, Fulham

What's the biggest difference between Tier 1 and Arsenal? Defense. The two Manchester sides allowed a combined 62 goals last year, whereas Arsenal allowed 49 by themselves.

Arsenal has a lot of money to toss around, but they don't have nearly the same funds as Manchester United or City. Thus, if they ever want to be able to compete with them defensively, they need to develop their back line.

They'll never be able to outbid those two for established defenders (without sacrificing their offense), so taking a player like Milo, training him, and preparing him for succession is the only way to make a realistic push to the top of the table.

And given the reports of Milo's impressive form, he might not even be as big of a project as I'm suggesting.