[ad_1]
Arsenal are fighting on all fronts this season – well, bar the League Cup – and despite a slow start to the campaign and some slightly sluggish attacking play, the men in red and white are starting to get back to their ferocious best from last year.
Once they get there, they’ll be a serious threat to any team in the Premier League and Champions League.
They have added some real steel to their midfield in Declan Rice, and the partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel looks more impenetrable than ever.
Related
Arsenal could sign Timber 2.0 in “tenacious” £34m “warrior”
The 25-year-old could form a brilliant partnership with the Dutchman.
That said, they still need some more depth in the number nine role and with the January transfer window just around the corner, Mikel Arteta and Edu Gasper look like they are planning on strengthening there with a youngster who could follow the path blazed by Gabriel Martinelli: Marcos Leonardo.
Arsenal transfer news – Marcos Leonardo
According to reports from Spain, Santos’ latest exciting youngster, Marcos Leonardo, has been attracting attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Arsenal.
The report reveals that the Gunners have been looking for ways to add to their impressive front line for quite some time and consider the young striker to be ‘one of the most outstanding’ talents in Brazil.
The north Londoners have reportedly lodged a bid of €20m – £17m – and are keen to bring him to London in January, taking advantage of the historic club’s shocking relegation.
It would represent a sizeable fee for a 20-year-old who has never played outside his homeland.
Still, with South American football expert Nathan Joynes haling the youngster as a “special talent”, Edu and co will be hoping that he can replicate the trajectory of Martinelli in N5.
Marcos Leonardo could be the next Gabriel Martinelli
Now, the first thing to make clear is that it would be wildly unfair on the Santos star to compare him to Martinelli with the expectation that he will come out on top. He is two years the Arsenal star’s junior and has yet to experience any football outside the Brazilian Serie A.
However, were he to join the Gunners, he could look to the former Ituano player as an example of how to successfully jump from South American football to the Premier League.
That said, when looking at the pair’s underlying numbers from this season, there is a lot that should excite the Arsenal faithful.
For starters, the “natural goalscorer”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, registers a higher non-penalty expected goals and assist figure, as well as more shots on target and the ability to hold onto the ball, as he is dispossessed quite a bit less than Martinelli.
However, his ability to take defenders on, create opportunities for teammates and carry the ball are significantly weaker, alongside a general lack of accurate passing.
Marcos Leonardo vs Gabriel Martinelli |
||
---|---|---|
Stats (per 90) |
Leonardo |
Martinelli |
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists |
0.40 |
0.33 |
Progressive Passes |
1.77 |
3.04 |
Progressive Carries |
1.42 |
5.54 |
Shots on Target |
0.94 |
0.89 |
Passing Accuracy |
73.6% |
78.0% |
Dispossessed |
1.22 |
1.88 |
Successful Take-Ons |
0.69 |
1.79 |
Nevertheless, these are flaws that a young, raw and explosive talent would be expected to have, and with the right coaching, there is no reason to believe that he wouldn’t improve – following in the footsteps of Martinelli who notably bagged 15 goals last season following an initial slow start to life in England.
Ultimately, Leonardo wouldn’t come straight into the first team, and fans shouldn’t expect him to, but you only have to look at the trajectory of his compatriot to see that there is a pathway for a young Brazilian talent as exciting as this.
[ad_2]
Source link