It might be a tired cliché, but this summer looks set to be Arsenal’s most important in years.
After failing to win the Premier League at the third time of asking and coming painfully close to the final of the Champions League this season, Mikel Arteta’s side have to deliver one or the other next year.
To help them do that, new Sporting Director Andrea Berta and Co have to deliver the goods in this summer’s transfer window by signing ready-made stars to help them win now.
However, while the focus has to be on those who can make an immediate impact, there is always room to pick up a few future stars, and based on recent reports, Arsenal may be about to sign someone who could be their own Rayan Cherki a few years down the line.
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It was just over a month ago that Arsenal were linked with a £30m move for Cherki, and it’s not hard to see why some fans would love him to make his way to the Emirates.
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For example, in 44 appearances for Lyon this season, totalling 3097 minutes, the young Frenchman scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.37 games, or every 96.78 minutes.
However, the stories touting him for a move to N5 soon dried up, and now it looks like Manchester City are going to be the ones who sign the 21-year-old, with transfers expert Fabrizio Romano confirming yesterday morning that the club had agreed personal terms with the player.
While missing out on the Lyon star isn’t ideal, the good news is that Arteta and Co might soon have their own incredibly exciting youngster on the books in Konstantinos Karetsas.
Yes, according to a recent report from Greece, Arsenal are incredibly interested in signing the Genk gem.
In fact, in something of a surprise, the report has revealed that the North Londoners are ‘very close to an agreement’ for the player, which will see them pay the Belgian outfit around €45m, which is about £38m, and leave him on loan with the team for next season.
It’s undoubtedly a lot of money to pay for someone so young, but based on his ability and potential, it may well be worth it, especially as he could be the club’s own version of Cherki a few years from now.
Why Karetsas could be Arsenal's Cherki
So, the first thing to say, and it’s an important qualifier, is that Karetsas is not at the same level as Cherki at the moment, and fans should not expect him to be.
After all, the Greek prospect is four years the Frenchman’s junior and, as a result, is much further behind in his development.
However, with some key similarities between the pair, it’s not hard to see a world in which the 17-year-old follows his development and eventually becomes a truly top-level player.
The first of these similarities is where they play, as while the Lyon ace has just about spent more time off the right this season, his most played position across his career has been in attacking midfield.
Likewise, the incredibly exciting Genk gem is primarily an attacking midfielder but has made a few appearances out wide, and according to respected analyst Ben Mattinson, his “1v1 ability and 2 footedness will make him deadly on the wings.”
That description of the youngster sounds an awful lot like the City-bound star, who has more than proven his own 1v1 ability and is unquestionably brilliant with both feet.
Furthermore, on top of his dribbling, Mattinson highlights the Genk-born talent’s ability on the ball, describing him as someone capable of playing “defence splitting passes” and saying that he should not be given any “space anywhere near the box on either side as he’ll hit the corners.”
In short, Mattinson’s description of the youngster as someone who “has it all” doesn’t feel too wide of the mark, and his underlying numbers from this season further back up that assessment.
According to FBref, he sits in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the next 14 competitions for carries, total carrying distance and fouls drawn, the top 3% for key passes, crosses and shot-creating actions from dead-balls, the top 5% for expected assists and shot-creating actions, the top 6% for take-ons attempted and more, all per 90.
Carries
48.80
Top 1%
Total Carrying Distance
327.41
Top 1%
Fouls Drawn
3.41
Top 1%
Carries into Final Third
3.80
Top 2%
Key Passes
3.18
Top 3%
Crosses
7.37
Top 3%
SCA (Dead-ball Passes)
1.47
Top 3%
Progressive Carrying Distance
148.03
Top 4%
Expected Assists
0.31
Top 5%
Shot-Creating Actions
5.66
Top 5%
Touches
65.09
Top 6%
Take-Ons Attempted
5.74
Top 6%
Ultimately, while it’s a lot of money to spend on someone so young, it might end up being an incredible bit of business a few years from now, as, just like Cherki, Karetsas looks like he has everything a number ten or winger would need to succeed at the very highest level.
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