Arsenal fans may now be gutted to see that a couple of the clubs former young talents are thriving away from the club – even with a new batch of youngsters impressing right now.
Winger Serge Gnabry is the main name that fits that bill, having become a world star with Bayern Munich with 23 goals and 14 assists last season, with the Gunners no doubt ruing selling him.
Striker Donyell Malen may not be at the same level as Gnabry just yet, but the ex-Arsenal striker is excelling with PSV Eindhoven; he bagged 17 goals and nine assists last term.
Some wondered whether Jeff Reine-Adelaide would be another similar case. The French midfielder was tipped for big things at Arsenal following a 2015 move from Lens, but failed to break through at the Emirates Stadium.
Reine-Adelaide joined Angers in 2018, and earned a big move to Lyon just a year later having showed some of the promise and quality that Arsenal were counting on in his early years.
The 22-year-old hit three goals and four assists in his first 15 league games for Lyon, making a hugely impressive start, but then tore his anterior cruciate ligament – and only came back to full fitness in July.
Lyon will have been hoping to see Reine-Adelaide kick on following his return from injury, but he seemingly feels that he needs to leave the club instead having been annoyed at his playing time even before his injury.
On Tuesday, Reine-Adelaide told RMC Sport that he is frustrated with life at Lyon, and wants to leave the club if he isn’t gong to play, having been told to stay patient until players leave Lyon and free up room for him to play.
One club who will certainly want to sign at least one more midfielder this summer is Arsenal, and some fans have been taking to Twitter to react to Reine-Adelaide’s comments – with two trains of thought emerging in the Arsenal fan base.
Some feel that Arsenal now need to bring him back to the club, believing that he can receive the playing time he wants under Mikel Arteta given his tendency to trust young players.
Reine-Adelaide can play out wide too, and his quickness could be a great fit for Arteta’s style of play, though he isn’t anything similar to Thomas Partey, who has been their top midfield target.
Other Arsenal fans believe that this is now set up perfectly for the Gunners to swoop in and sign Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, which would then free up room for Reine-Adelaide to play in his place.
L’Equipe recently noted that Arsenal had offered Matteo Guendouzi in a part-exchange deal for Aouar, and fans now believe that the time is right to move in for the Frenchman – and directly improve Reine-Adelaide’s situation in the process.
Aouar would certainly be a more impressive signing than bringing back Reine-Adelaide, but Gunners fans seem to fancy their chances at signing either of the Lyon midfielders to bolster Arteta’s side this summer.
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