Arsenal in talks to sign “best CM prospect in the world”

Since taking the job over six years ago, Mikel Arteta has helped to completely transform Arsenal.

Part of the club’s complete overhaul from sleeping giant to Premier League winners-in-waiting has been his tactical approach and philosophy, but his transfers have been just as important.

The Spaniard hasn’t always gotten it right in the market, but he’s overseen the signing of some seriously talented players like Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhães, David Raya and club captain Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian is just starting to get back to his best this season, and if reports are to be believed, Arsenal have already identified a potential signing who could be his long-term replacement.

Arsenal target Odegaard replacement

It is no secret that last season was an underwhelming one for Odegaard – to put it lightly.

Likely in large part because of his ankle injury, the Norwegian looked miles from his mercurial best and struggled to influence games in the way he had in seasons prior.

Fortunately, while he’s still had to deal with injury problems this year, the captain is starting to look like the midfield general who won back-to-back player of the season awards.

For example, FBref rank him in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League this season for progressive passes, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 4% for assists and more, all per 90.

So, with Odegaard getting back to his influential self, but set to turn 28 this year, it makes sense to learn that the club are looking at a player who could one day be his long-term replacement.

At least that is according to a recent report from TEAMtalk, which claims Arsenal are still very interested in Arda Güler.

In fact, the report states that the North Londoners have made contact with the player’s camp numerous times in recent times, especially in the last month, over a potential move at some point.

However, the bad news for the Gunners is that, according to the story, the Turkish wonderkid has made it clear he wishes to remain at Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.

That said, things could change in the coming months and years, and given Guler’s immense ability and potential, Arsenal should continue to pursue him, especially as he could be the perfect long-term replacement for Odegaard.

Why Güler would be a dream Odegaard replacement

So the first thing to say is that, if his recent performances are anything to go by, then Odegaard is on his way back to his best and doesn’t need to be replaced.

However, with him set to turn 28 at the end of the year, it would be wise for Arsenal to consider who could be his long-term replacement and provide competition for the homegrown options of Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman.

This is where Güler comes in, as he’s still very early on in his career, but there are a few reasons why he already looks like he could be a dream option for the Gunners.

The first is that he’s already showing a similar positional preference to the Norwegian.

For example, while he can and has played in a few roles, he’s spent most of his time in attacking midfield or off the right, suggesting he’d be able to fill that right-hand side midfield role under Arteta.

On top of this, the 20-year-old has also shown an ability to not only cope with extreme pressure but thrive under it.

He’s already made 89 first-team appearances for Los Blancos, totalling 4305 minutes, in which he has scored 15 goals and provided 19 assists.

That comes out to an excellent average of a goal involvement every 2.61 games, or every 126.61 minutes, which would be impressive for a seasoned veteran, let alone a youngster.

As if that wasn’t enough, he has also become Turkey’s next great hope and racked up a tally of six goals and six assists in just 26 senior caps.

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Finally, on top of everything else, the Ankara-born gem, whom content creator Neal Gardner has dubbed “the single best CM/AM prospect in world football right now”, also has some stellar underlying numbers to his name.

According to FBref, he ranks in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for expected assisted goals, pass completion, progressive passes and key passes, the top 3% for shot-creating actions and more, all per 90.

FBref also ranked Odegaard as the number one most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the youngster in Europe’s top five leagues, which really drives home his suitability as a long-term replacement.

Ultimately, while it might be an incredibly difficult transfer to get over the line in the short term, Arsenal should keep pursuing Güler, as he could be a megastar in the future.

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