There’s probably no chance that Ousmane Dembele will join Arsenal anytime soon. But on the very slight chance he does, how about we talk a little Dembele?

 

POSITIVES

He is equally comfortable with both feet, meaning he’d give us the option of cutting in or stretching the opposition. Although he likes playing on the right, he can also play on the left. He is phenomenally quick and an excellent dribbler. He has good play-making attributes as well as the required amount of directness. We have been crying out aloud for pace on the flanks, and have relied on Bellerin for that. The team also lacks that sort of natural width that comes with playing wingers in the team. We also don’t have a lot of dribblers to be fair. Our best one is probably Iwobi, and he’s really not good enough to be the best dribbler on the team. This tells us more about the squad than it does about Iwobi. Moreover, having Dembele would give another dimension to our attack. More directness and pace on the flanks, not to mention width. In the big games, we need someone who brings the X-factor. Chelsea has a Hazard, and, sadly, we had Sanchez. Now he’s gone and there is no one to fill in. the connection between Auba and Dembele was evident when they were at Borussia together. Dembele has already played at a top level for quite some time so the transition would also be much easier.

NEGATIVES

As is the case with many of the greats, as good as he is, Dembele has some shortcomings to his game. He has disciplinary problems. It was evident during his move to Barcelona, and his time so far at Barcelona. Of course, in most of the games, you can afford to let Dembele off the hook for not tracking back, but the big teams will punish you, and we cannot afford that. We are already a shaky defense, and an undisciplined winger would expose us even more. He also is very very wasteful. His final product needs some refining. His decision making in the penalty box is getting better, but given his potential, he should be chipping in way more goals and assists. My final doubt is if he will be able to adapt to the physicality of the English Game.

VERDICT

Despite all his flaws and shortcomings, Dembele is still a phenomenal player and is still just 21 years old. All his flaws should be addressed as he matures. He brings another dimension to our game and has enormous potential, but whether Barca let us have the biggest coup is another question.

We have had a decent season so far. Our unbeaten run is extended to 17 games(13 wins and 4 draws). That’s impressive, but, hey, that includes our Europa League campaign so its not all big games. Since January is coming soon how about we talk reinforcements. The one position I believe that needs to bolstering is Striker. With Nketiah, AUba, and Lacazette all in contention, the Striker position has so much quality and depth. The attack is pretty good, but the potential is untapped. We have no wingers. Our “wide players” so far have been Welbeck, Auba, Mkhi, Ozil, and Iwobi. But they all have something in common: they like to come inside. Which crowds the center and congests the park even more. And all of them are not very good dribblers, Iwobi excluded. Ozil has off matches, but we have the depth to at least make it till the summer transfer window.

The No.10 role is also pretty good. We have Iwobi, Ozil, and, sooner or later, Smithe-Rowe too. Mkhitarian is terrible, but let’s hope we manage to get rid of him in January. Our Pivot also seems to be pretty decent. For the controller, we have Xhaka, Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles, and Willock. The latter too offering another dimension. Niles’ speed, athleticism, technique, and strength in the tackle adds a different dimension to our pivot as we have seen in the defeat to Man United last season. For the Spoiler, however, we only have Torreira.

Defense-wise, it’s been a travesty. The one thing that has been bailing us is that our attack is firing. We just keep conceding. Sokratis has made his impact and both Holding and Mustafi have greatly taken their game up a notch. But with Koscielny still not ready for premier league action, our center-back pairing is sluggish. We have seen Adama Traore humiliate our center-backs, as did many other players. Left-back is still an issue. Kolasinac is too vulnerable defensively. Monreal is being outmuscled and physically dominated week in week out, and his attacking-game is not great either. Niles is a decent option, but he is only a short-term option. A left-footed player would give the team an extra dimension when playing out from the back, and Niles doesn’t offer that. Moreover, it would kill his potential to be playing him out of position.

Generally speaking, Arsenal has transformed into a more aggressive side and have shown real promise, but there is still a long way to go if we dream of the Premier League trophy or the Champions League final. To maintain our surge for the title or at least a guaranteed Champions League spot, we need a new pacy centerback, left-back, and spoiler.

This season began with us saying “we’ll win the league.” Then came 2 defeats against City and Chelsea. We got a reality check. Ever since we haven’t been beaten. Xhaka has drastically improved, but I do believe we are too optimistic about him. He has a good passing range and unleashes our fullbacks into space with his pinpoint long-balls, and given that we lack wingers, his importance to our play is even more invaluable. Sure, he is always looking to play the ball forwards and his stats are remarkable in this sense. And yes, he did put in an impeccable showing against Liverpool, but Wolves just gave Xhaka and us a reality check. But, despite his improvements, he is pretty much the same player-just slightly better. He still has his lapses in concentration. He is dribbled past too many times, and he just isn’t athletic enough to evade the press. His loss of possession against wolves is the perfect reminder. He does not look over his shoulder enough. He is currently doing a good job being the controller in our double pivot alongside Torreira, but he isn’t someone who can be a long-term solution to our problems. Enter Matteo Guendouzi, a strong athletic controller with good passing range. Guendouzi is certainly the future of Arsenal’s midfield alongside Torreira. He is certainly more athletic, dribbles better, and wouldn’t get dribbled past as much. And I do believe he would help us much better when building up from the back as he can dribble his way out of the press-something we have seen in preseason. Of course, Guendouzi is not ready to be a regular premier league starter, but he has shown signs of his potential. Hopefully, he gets minutes as a sub and hones his trade. He still, of course, has problems with his positional discipline and decision making in the final third, but, hey, he’s only 19. With a little Emery one-on-one, he should be able to address his flaws and become the athletic controller our pivot is desperately crying out for.