Arsenal must capitalize on their success this season and establish themselves as regular contenders for the Premier League title. The summer transfer window will be crucial in achieving this goal, particularly in midfield where the likes of Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Jorginho, and Mohamed Elneny are reaching the latter stages of their peaks. Arsenal cannot afford to make the same mistakes as Liverpool, who failed to respond sooner to their midfield regression and are now fighting for a Europa League qualification spot.
Last summer, Arsenal showed interest in Youri Tielemans, but they were willing to wait until this coming summer to move for the Belgian, whose contract is expiring. However, the Foxes were asking for too high of a transfer fee in the context of the player’s situation. Tielemans’ stock has fallen considerably since last year, and his relatively lacklustre displays in a Leicester side facing the prospect of relegation have not earned him too many plaudits.
Declan Rice, on the other hand, is the priority candidate for Arsenal in the summer transfer window. The England international has continued to impress despite West Ham’s struggles for form, and he will cost the Gunners a serious fee as he is still under contract.
Tielemans’ allure is that he will be a free agent in the summer. The wages will be sizeable as he looks to maximize the patience in running down his deal, but a player of his level and international standing is unlikely to be short of interest. Arsenal must weigh up whether Tielemans is the best option on the market for the left-eight role, Xhaka’s position, and whether he can improve the team.
Xhaka has done a brilliant job, and moreover there’s also the argument that Tielemans might block the pathway of a Charlie Patino, whose ceiling could be considerably higher.
Ultimately, Arsenal must decide whether Tielemans can offer them something now or in the not-so-distant future an output that matches their aim of establishing themselves as regular contenders for the Premier League title. A move for Tielemans would have suited Arsenal if they were fighting to progress into the top four places, but they must now look at somebody who can offer them a better output than the Belgian, atleast if Youri is asking for high wages – that just doesn’t make sense.
