Reported Arsenal target Emil Roback may be “the future” of Swedish football but, unfortunately for him, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still the present, laughing in the face of father time a week off his 40th birthday.
With a genuine, modern-day great still ahead of him in the AC Milan pecking order, 18-year-old Roback has yet to make a single Serie A appearance since swapping Hammarby for the San Siro in a deal worth almost £2 million 13 months ago.
And, according to Calciomercato, a meeting between the teenager’s agent and Milan director Paolo Maldini will take place next week.
The implication is clear – one of the most sought-after young strikers in European football isn’t thrilled with his role at the Rossoneri.
“(Roback) is the future of Sweden, I can tell you now. He is a player at a completely different level,” former PSG, Manchester United and Barcelona superstar Ibrahimovic said of his fleet-footed compatriot.
“(Roback) isn’t a typical Swedish player. He is a completely different player and he grew up in Hammarby. We have several players in Hammarby who will be something. They just have to get the chance.”
Could Emil Roback still end up at Arsenal?
If Roback wants to move on from Milan just four months after extending his contract until 2026, he won’t be short of offers.
“We were contacted and know about the interest. He (Roback) has met Arsenal,” Hammarby sporting director Jesper Jansson admitted in March 2020, confirming the teenager had travelled to north London for talks.
“He has also visited Arsenal. Yes, I understand why they are interested. He is a forward with a great physique and speed and already a skilled goalscorer.”
The question is, would Roback be better off at Arsenal than he is at Milan? Roback, Jansson adds, was also in the sights of Bayern Munich.
As Leon Balogun and Eddie Nketiah will tell you, securing a regular place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI is easier said than done, particularly with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looking back to his best during yesterday’s 3-1 thumping of Tottenham Hotspur.
Furthermore, Milan’s two big-name centre-forwards, 39-year-old Zlatan and 34-year-old Olivier Giroud, aren’t getting any younger. Ibra might live his life like some sort of IRL Benjamin Button but even he admitted, in a rare moment of self-deprecation, his age-defying limbs are starting to ache.
And Roback would be a fitting replacement for Sweden’s most famous son, a seminal passing of the goal-poaching baton.
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