Arsenal Transfer News: Major Rumours Circling Gunners on Good Friday
Arsenalโs 2014/15 campaign has an air of both optimism and enigma about it; as while the Gunners are still battling for trophies on two fronts, an implosion is still very much a possibility.
For the last decade, the Gunners have been a so-close-and-yet-so-far team, but by adding a few welcome doses of quality to their setup in the right areas, they could once again be the Premier Leagueโs superpower.
And with that in mind, manager Arsene Wenger reportedly has two electrifying youngsters on his summer shopping list.
Anthony Martial
When Monaco dumped Arsenal out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage (again), they were better man-for-man all over the pitch in the first leg at the Emirates.
Sure, the Gunners had an off day, but the Ligue 1 side proved that writing off teams in Europeโs top club competition comes at your peril.
One of the men pulling the strings for Leonardo Jardimโs men that fateful night in north London was striker Anthony Martial, whoโs now rumoured to be a target of Wenger.
According to Will Giles of Metro, the French manager has been following Martialโs progress for some time now, but his dynamic displays against the Gunners in the Champions League have fast-tracked his approaches.
As Arsenal fans will know only too well, Martial is a pacy forward with bags of skill and vision. Heโs the perfect partner in crime to the somewhat lazy Dimitar Berbatov at Monaco, as, essentially, he does the Bulgarianโs running for him.
In fact, his style is very similar to that of Danny Welbeck, although the Englishmanโs ability is a little finer tuned with his age.
That said, Wenger needs the kind of striker thatโs going to hit 25-plus goals every season and add the finishing touches to flowing moves that unfortunately tend to go nowhere.
Olivier Giroud has proved himself a fine poacher during his time in the red shirt, but Martial offers a different dimensionโa player who will come deep and get involved in the moves before being in the right place at the right time to finish them off.
The 19-year-oldโs scoring prowess has been evident of late, scoring four goals in his last three matches prior to the international break, per OptaJean:
However, he then carried that form onto the international stage with Franceโs under-21sโbagging a couple of goals in the 4-1 win over the Netherlands.
While itโs taken a while for Martial to find his feet, a lot of that comes down to being given the opportunities. In the early part of his Monaco career, he found it difficult to influence games as a late substitute.
Is that all heโll be limited to at Arsenal, though?
Itโs hard to see a teenage striker coming in and ruling the roost immediately, which is why Martial could be tempted elsewhere.
And as beIN Sportsโ Matt Spiro revealed, there could soon be an offer on the table from one of Arsenalโs Premier League rivals:
Should the Frenchman choose Everton over the Gunners, first-team football could well be more common, but itโs likely the youngster wants to aim higher than that.
Rated in excess of ยฃ3.6 million, per Giles, Martial would need a lot of tempting to ditch Monaco in favour of the Premier League.
However, working under potentially the best French manager to ever don a suit on a touchline could well be a big enough lure.
Maxi Romero
Who? Well, Argentinian sensation Maxi Romero isnโt the kind of player whoโs going to make Arsenal title candidates next seasonโheโs but a humble 16-year-old.
The wonderkid currently plays for Velez Sarsfield, but according to Jamie Sanderson of Metro, Wenger is doing all he can to get him on Arsenalโs books.
At such a tender age, Romero is more used to forging sick notes for school than signing big-money contracts, but he could well be putting pen to paper at the Emirates very soon.
Sanderson writes that club representatives will head to Argentina next week to get the deal doneโbelieved to be worth around the ยฃ2 million markโbefore loaning him back to Velez for the next two seasons.
If and when the ace heads to London as an 18-year-old to begin his Premier League career, Wenger will be hoping that heโs ready to be the next big thing.
So, not exactly a story to get Arsenal fans planning how to get the best view of next seasonโs open-top bus trophy parade, but adding exciting young talent is never a bad thing.
Despite the doubters, the Gunners are in good hands with Wenger, and should he divulge in some good summer business, the future will be bright for Arsenal.
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