Arda Guler, a teenage phenomenon for Fenerbahce, is attracting interest from a number of clubs, and Arsenal is one of them.
What has changed since Arda Guler joined Arsenal?
Football Insider claims that Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have ‘leapfrogged’ Newcastle United in the race to sign Guler, who has distinguished himself as a top potential this season.
Aside from Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the attacker because he has everyone who has watched him in awe.
The 18-year-old’s contract features a clause that would allow him to leave the Yellow Canaries for merely €17.5 million (£15 million), but because of this, his Süper Lig club has offered a new contract to keep him committed for an additional year in the hopes of receiving a more lucrative sum.
Arda Guler should Arsenal sign him?
Bukayo Saka, Serge Gnabry, Cesc Fabregas, and Ashley Cole are just a few of the notable players that have emerged from Hale End, giving the north London giants the distinction of having one of European football’s most illustrious junior academies.
Guler, who is currently 18 years old, would have the chance to grow into a star with the Gunners, learning from the successes of his senior peers and eventually developing into a player of the highest calibre. One European scout once referred to Guler as “a magician with a wand of a left foot.”
The four-cap Turkey player, who has one goal this season, has an average match rating of 7.48 in the Süper Lig, scoring four goals and dishing out three assists from just 11 starts. He also completes 85% of his passes and makes an average of two critical passes per game.
The “fantastic” Guler, as Fabrizio Romano dubbed him, could emerge under Arteta’s guidance as the Premier League’s next Riyad Mahrez given his natural skill with the ball at his feet, his position as a left-footed winger on the right flank, and his obvious aptitude for securing both goals and assists.
The Algerian’s skill set will be well known to the Arsenal manager from his time serving as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, and given Saka’s ascent to prominence as the right side’s standout attacker for the Gunners, it’s clear Arteta understands how to employ attacking alternatives in this regard.
Mahrez completed a £60 million transfer to the Citizens in 2018, where he has amassed five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three League Cups, and the Champions League, being hailed as “exceptional” by his manager for his versatile attacking style. Mahrez originally signed for Leicester from French club Le Havre in 2014, winning the Premier League and earning the division’s Player of the Year award.
According to WhoScored, the 32-year-old, who drifts inside from the right flank like Guler, has averaged 1.8 dribbles, 2.1 shots, and 1.6 critical passes per game over the course of his career. He has also completed 82% of his passes.
For comparison, the quick-footed Guler has averaged 1.6 dribbles per game in his young career, showing off his poise and easygoing gait on the pitch, while the aforementioned Saka has recorded 1.4 dribbles per game.
The Turk is unquestionably a “serious talent,” as reporter Duncan Castles has described him, and by joining the Emirates Stadium, he might develop into one of English football’s most precocious phenoms, possibly even emulating Mahrez.
