Since joining Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has overseen plenty of changes at the club.
He’s instilled a new style of play, a level of expectation that was missing for so many years, and most crucially, he’s completely overhauled the squad.
Now, not every signing the Spaniard has made has been a success, but he’s had a pretty decent track record thus far, with the likes of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães and Jurrien Timber all massively improving the team.
However, when it comes to his most underrated acquisition, it has to be Ben White, so fans should be excited about recent reports linking the club to another star whose signing could be a repeat of White’s.
Arsenal's transfer targets
It’s going to be a massive summer of business for Arsenal, and one of the areas they look most intent on improving is left-wing, with Nico Williams one of their top targets.
Transfer Focus
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The Spaniard is said to have a release clause worth around £52m in his current contract, which could prove to be value for money considering he’s scored 17 goals and provided 25 assists in 77 appearances since the start of last season.
Another youngster the North Londoners are supposedly interested in signing this summer is Real Madrid’s Arda Güler.
The 20-year-old could be available for just £26m, and as he’s managed to rack up ten goal involvements in just 1170 minutes this season, that could be an incredible deal.
However, there is another, even younger prospect worth even more money that the Gunners are being heavily linked with: Dean Huijsen.
Yes, according to a recent report from The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Arsenal are very interested in the Bournemouth star.
In fact, Ornstein has revealed that alongside Liverpool and Chelsea, the Gunners are a leading contender for the Spaniard, while Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have also made contact.
However, on top of beating out the competition, the North Londoners will also have to stump up a significant amount of cash to get their man, as he has a release clause worth £50m in his contract.
In all, it would be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Huijsen’s immense ability and potential, it’s one well worth fighting for, especially as he could be a White repeat.
Why signing Huijsen would be a White repeat
So, should Arsenal be able to get ahead of the chasing pack and get their hands on Huijsen this summer, what would make the deal so similar to White’s in 2021?
Well, the first and perhaps most surface-level similarity is that when the Gunners signed the Englishman, he also cost £50m and moved to the Emirates from an upwardly mobile midtable Premier League side in Brighton & Hove Albion, which is how you could describe Bournemouth.
On top of that, the Poole-born star had just made his way into the England set-up ahead of his move, and the Cherries gem won his first senior cap for La Roja last month.
However, the most significant similarity between the players is that even though the Gunners’ number four has now moved to right-back, he was initially signed as a centre-back, which is where the “extremely dominant” Spaniard, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would play should he move to the Emirates.
With all that said, there are obviously other reasons the North Londoners should be looking to sign the defender on top of the mirroring of his potential move to White’s, such as his sensational underlying numbers.
Interceptions
2.10
Top 1%
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.17
Top 2%
Clearances
6.78
Top 4%
Shot-Creating Actions
1.64
Top 5%
Progressive Carries
1.45
Top 8%
Non-Penalty Goals
0.09
Top 10%
Touches in the Attacking Box
1.36
Top 12%
Progressive Passes
4.49
Top 20%
According to FBref, he sits in the top 1% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues for interceptions, the top 2% for non-penalty expected goals plus assists, the top 4% for clearances, the top 5% for shot-creating actions, the top 8% for progressive carries and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, signing another defender might not be high on the list of priorities this summer.
However, Huijsen looks to be an incredibly special player, so Arteta and Co should do what they can to secure his services, as he could become as important a player as White in the future.
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