While Arsenal will have gaps to fill in the squad where experience is required and players who can step straight into the team, the rebuild has to be about finding gems who could be developed into stars.
It’s much easier said than done, but what they need to do is sign younger talents who have huge potential, and that appears to be the case with two potential deals reportedly getting closer and closer:
Arsenal official bid to Anderlecht for Albert Sambi Lokonga: €17.5m + add ons [potentially around €4m]? #AFC
Agreement still to be reached on future sale percentage as Anderlecht want 15%. Personal terms already agreed.
…Nuno Tavares also getting closer and closer. ???
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 28, 2021
#Arsenal verso un doppio colpo in entrata: non solo Nuno Tavares, si avvicina anche Lokonga https://t.co/18Od8tJkrX
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 28, 2021
Lokonga is the most exciting one here for the supporters as he had a chance of being in Belgium’s Euro 2020 squad before Axel Witsel’s recovery, and he looks like a talented midfielder who could play a first-team role straight away.
He doesn’t come with a ton of experience as he’s only broken into the Anderlecht team over the past couple of seasons, but he can play in a holding role or higher up the field so there will be high hopes for him.
Nuno Tavares is a left-back so it’s likely that he will be the backup for Kieran Tierney, but he also has tremendous pace and he loves to bomb forward in attack so suddenly there’s a viable and exciting alternative in the squad.
It’s promising to see that the squad will feature young talents who can step into the team rather than packing the bench with veterans with little upside, and this could be two excellent pieces of business if they get them over the line.