Donyell Malen did not make a single Premier League appearance for Arsenal before leaving to join Eredivisie outfit PSV Eindhoven.
A striker Arsenal sold for around half a million pounds has scored more goals so far this season than Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang combined.
Yes, 2019 feels like the year when Donyell Malen becomes Arsenal’s one-that-got-away.
But unlike the cautionary tales of Mo Salah, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, which continue to leave Chelsea fans scratching their heads in frustration, Arsenal did all they could to keep PSV Eindhoven’s unstoppable number nine in North London.
“That I was sent away from Arsenal is certainly not true. I still had a contract for a year and Arsenal even wanted to extend that,” the young striker told De Telegraaf earlier in the year.
Malen joined Arsenal from Ajax in 2015 but he would spend just two years in the English capital, failing to make even a single first-team appearance despite scoring goals for fun at youth level and catching the eye of an impressed Arsene Wenger.
But the Gunners had little choice but to cash in when Malen made it clear that he had grown tired of life on the periphery at the Emirates. And, on current form, it’s hard to argue that the 20-year-old didn’t make the right decision.
Fresh from netting on his first appearance for the Dutch national team, away in Germany no less, Malen is going from strength to strength since scored six goals in his last two games. He became the first player to score five in a single Eredivisie match since Bas Dost had a full head of hair, single-handedly dismantling Vitesse last weekend.
Then, there was that fizzing drive which set PSV on their way to a thrilling Europa League victory over Sporting Lisbon – his tenth in 13 games at club level this season alone. PSV decided against spending big to replace their departed top scorer Luuk de Jong when he left for Sevilla, instead putting their faith in Malen.
It’s fair to say their trust is being repaid.
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