While it hasn’t been disastrous, it has been a challenging start to the campaign for Arsenal this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side have done reasonably well considering the calibre of opposition they have already faced in the Premier League, but injuries are starting to become a serious problem.
The North Londoners were without Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard against Liverpool, and before the game finished, they also saw Gabriel Magalhães and Jurrien Timber come off.
The small saving grace was that Bukayo Saka seems to be back to full fitness, but given his age, workload and incredible importance to the team, Edu Gaspar and Co must find another right-winger to come in and provide him with competition, which, based on recent reports, might happen next year.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from Football Insider, Arsenal are interested in Brentford’s goalscoring dynamo, Bryan Mbeumo.
Former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur scout Mick Brown told the outlet that the Gunners “have been looking” at the winger and that there is a real “possibility” that they go in for his signature next year, akin to their move for Leandro Trossard in January 2023.
No price is mentioned in the story, but reports from earlier this year have suggested that the Cameroonian international could be available for a fee in the region of £50m, which would make sense due to his contract expiring in under two years.
It wouldn’t be a cheap transfer to get over the line, but given Mbeumo’s impressive form in recent months, it is worth pursuing, especially as it would also help Saka.
Why signing Mbeumo would be great for Saka
So, before looking at Mbeumo’s impressive form in the last couple of seasons, let’s examine the significant reason why his arrival would be excellent news for Saka: rest.
Yes, while fans, and Arteta for that matter, would likely love for the Englishman to play every minute of every game for the next few years, that just isn’t possible, and worse yet, it would almost certainly have a negative impact on his long-term future.
For example, the 23-year-old has already played an incredible 18289 minutes of first-team football, and by the end of his sixth full season, had played more than former wonderkids Michael Owen and Dele Alli played at the same points in their careers, and according to research from the people at OLBG, the Hale Ender could see his career go down a similar path if the manager continues to play him into the ground.
The research in question has concluded, based on the careers of other top stars and when they had to hang up their boots, that there is a chance he has already played around 53% of his projected career minutes, and while it’s obviously not a hard science, it would be foolhardy to believe the 42-capped Englishman would be immune to the eventual burnout that so many other stars have had to contend with.
So, with all of that said, it’s clear that the Gunners need another high-quality right-winger who can not only come in for games in the Englishman’s stead but also consistently push and challenge him throughout future campaigns, which is where the Brentford man comes in.
For example, the “criminally underrated” attacker, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was sensational for the Bees last season, racking up nine goals and six assists in just 27 appearances, equating to a goal involvement once every 1.8 games.
Moreover, if a campaign like that isn’t enough to convince people, then perhaps the fact he’s already scored eight goals in ten matches this season will be.
Appearances
210
Goals
58
Assists
42
Goal Involvements per Match
0.47
Ultimately, if Mbeumo were to join Arsenal next year, he would be doing so knowing that he’d mostly be a backup to Saka.
However, given how well he has played in recent years, there is no reason he couldn’t still play a significant role throughout a full season, and the fact he’d allow the Englishman to play fewer games could be a game-changer for the club in the long run.
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