Arsenal could make a strange but brilliant signing this summer, with Sven Mislintat again looking to take advantage of previous relationships to seal a deal.
Since joining for around £100million, 21-year-old Ousmane Dembélé has struggled to have the desired impact at Barcelona, partly down to injuries, and now it seems the Spanish club may be open to letting the Frenchman leave on loan – and Mislintat, who helped sign Dembele at Dortmund, is said to be interested in bringing him to Arsenal, even if it is only on a temporary basis.
Interestingly Stephan Lichtsteiner, who is set to join Arsenal, has the same agent as Dembele – and this could possibly give the Gunners an edge in negotiations for the wide forward.
Some might suggest that Arsenal do not need another forward following the signings of Lacazette and Aubameyang, but I do not personally agree. We are really lacking a natural wide forward. Liverpool have done so well because of Salah and Mane, Manchester City have gone to the next level thanks to Sterling and Sane’s form, Arsenal do not have one single winger in that mould, but Dembele is.
Ideally we’d sign him, but with the clubs budget reportedly low and other areas needing significant investment, a loan deal could benefit Arsenal in the short term, as Dembele is already a top quality player, he proved that during his time at Dortmund.
Wide forwards of this calibre will not come cheap and there isn’t an abundance of this player available in the market currently. Someone of Dembele’s level would cost at least £60million – so this could be a quick win for Emery and save some budget to invest in other areas, with a defender, goalkeeper and a central midfielder still needed.