Who Is Vincent Janssen and What Would He Bring to Arsenal?

With Granit Xhaka already in the bag, Arsene Wenger and Arsenal are turning their attention to other transfer targets. Having strengthened their midfield, the focus could now shift to attack—and Dutch forward Vincent Janssen could feature prominently on their wanted list.

Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail has reported that the Gunners scouts have "paid close attention" to a player whose performances in 2015/16’s Eredivisie for AZ Alkmaar have made him one of Europe’s most wanted strikers.  

If Arsenal do want Janssen, they may have to beat off interest from their north London rivals. According to Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports, Mauricio Pochettino watched the 21-year-old in action for the Netherlands against the Republic of Ireland. Tottenham’s interest makes sense: They require an understudy for Harry Kane if they are to have the requisite squad depth to challenge for the league next season.

However, Arsenal may have an advantage over their neighbours when it comes to enticing Janssen. While the Dutchman would surely have to accept being a back-up to Kane at White Hart Lane, there is potentially a starting spot available at Arsenal.

Despite scoring 24 goals in all competitions last season, Olivier Giroud’s position is not secure. With Theo Walcott out of favour and Danny Welbeck out of action, there could be a real chance for Janssen to earn himself a regular place at the Emirates Stadium.

What’s clear is that Janssen is not the kind of marquee figure the Arsenal fans might be anticipating. After signing Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech in consecutive summers, Gunners supporters have grown accustomed to acquiring established world-class talent. Janssen is not in that bracket. 

However, he might well be in time. With top-class strikers infamously difficult to come by, Wenger may have to plump for a player with the potential to reach that elite level rather than the finished product.

If there’s a manager out there with the ability to transform Janssen into a superstar, it’s surely Wenger. This is the same coach who played a crucial role in moulding the careers of Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, George Weah and Emmanuel Adebayor. None of those players were renowned household names before Wenger’s intervention. Intriguingly, it was also Wenger who identified the potential in another young Dutch forward: Robin van Persie.

Janssen, like Van Persie, began his career with Feyenoord Rotterdam. However, despite Janssen scoring a hat-trick in the match that clinched his club the Dutch youth title, he found himself unceremoniously released. It was deemed there simply wasn’t anything exceptional about Janssen’s game. He was a functional forward but not one who shone in any particular aspect of attacking play.

However, second-tier club Almere saw enough in him to gamble and offer him a contract. They were struck by one particular facet of his approach to the game: his attitude.

As former Almere coach Fred Grim told Michael Yokhin of ESPN FC: "Almere are a club that has to constantly look for players who were let go by the bigger teams. I don’t know why Feyenoord didn't want Vincent, but I knew that he was a very good striker. After talking to him, it was easy to understand that he is a great professional too."

That’s a consistent thread. Speak to anyone who’s worked with Janssen and invariably they will comment on his dedication and work rate, both on the pitch and at the training ground.

Gaston Taument, who coached Janssen as a teenager, told Priya Ramesh of FourFourTwo: "Vincent has always lived exemplarily for the sport. There has not been a day that he has not trained optimally. That shows his character: he is a fighter, a hardy spirit. Therein lies his greatest strength: he is able to work exceptionally hard and very much so to keep defenders busy."

Janssen did not let his release by Feyenoord defeat him. After two successful seasons with Almere, he found himself back in the top flight with Alkmaar. Having fought his way back to the top of Dutch football, he has performed with the determination of a man who is not prepared to let his second chance pass him by.

According to Squawka, he finished the season with 27 goals in 34 Eredivisie appearances, with goals in the Dutch Cup and UEFA Europa League to boot.

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In some ways his rise has been akin to that of Tottenham’s Kane. At an early age, it was feared that both forwards would not have sufficient pace to thrive at the top level. They’ve dismissed those concerns through hard work, intelligence and unerring technical skill. 

Their styles are comparable, too. Like Kane, Janssen is an all-round forward, as capable of leading the line as running in behind. Grim described him thus to Yokhin: "Janssen has all the right skills for centre-forward. He keeps the ball well with his back to the goal. He knows how to position himself. He is quick and makes the right movements. He works hard without the ball and puts a lot of pressure on the defenders."

Importantly, he is two-footed, which makes his moves in the penalty area difficult to predict—he can go right, and he can go left. A lot of strikers can only shoot with one foot, and they are much easier to mark.

Grim’s observation is borne out by the evidence. According to Squawka, Janssen bagged 15 of his league goals with his left foot and 10 with his right. Just as Santi Cazorla’s ambidextrous style enables him to turn easily away from his markers in the midfield, so Janssen is able to bamboozle centre-backs by shifting his weight in either direction. He presents a constant threat. 

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Janssen has been a relatively slow starter in his career—indeed, he did not score in his first 367 minutes for Alkmaar. It would probably prove to be similar if he moved to Arsenal—given his relative lack of experience, it’s unlikely that Wenger would throw him into the first team right away.

However, he would be given chances to impress from the bench and in domestic cup competitions. If he shone on those occasions, it might not be long before he permanently displaced Giroud. Arsenal’s attack is in need of a shake-up, and any new arrival could well prove to be the beneficiary of that uncertainty.

Arsenal fans may well demand a world-class striker this summer. However, if Wenger can’t secure one, acquiring a player on Janssen’s steep upward trajectory could mean they have a top-level striker on their books sooner rather than later.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.