According to Football.London, Arsenal are reportedly still in pursuit of Leicester City midfielder, Youri Tielemans, despite being in dire need of signing a striker. It is understood that the Gunners have prioritised the signing of a number nine with Gabriel Jesus sidelined for the long term due to a knee injury. However, they could be inclined to change their plans which gives hope to the Belgian midfielder to make an exit from the King Power Stadium in the January transfer window.
Tielemans’ Campaign At Leicester This Season
Tielemans has endured a difficult campaign with both his club and country but has done well to put in a few impressive displays for them recently. The 25-year-old has made 19 appearances for the Foxes this season, finding the back of the net on four occasions and creating three assists, across various competitions.
The Sint-Pieters-Leeuw-born sensation has been reliable in the holding positions of the midfield after averaging 2.3 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 0.6 clearances, 1.0 shots, 1.2 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game in the Premier League.
He was even accurate when distributing possession from midfield after completing 85.7% of his attempted passes in the English first division (stats via whoscored).
Tielemans’ contract at the King Power Stadium expires at the end of this season which makes him a decent buy as the Gunners can bring him to Emirates Stadium on a cut-price deal.
Should Arteta Bring Him To Arsenal In January?
The Leicester talent remains an all-rounder at the centre of the park. Tielemans doesn’t mind putting his foot into a tackle and can sense the danger well to secure possession back for his side. The Belgium international can offer decent cover for the backline and does well to transition into the attack while proficiently distributing possession to his teammates. Furthermore, he can contribute to the attack by netting his fair share of goals and making some decisive passes to set up his teammates in the final third.
The Belgian sensation is primarily a box-to-box midfielder but can also serve as a holding midfielder or an attacking midfielder if required as he doesn’t mind clearing the danger when needed and remains a decent playmaker in the final third. Thus, he would make a brilliant addition to Mikel Arteta’s midfield department bringing more competition to Granit Xhaka and especially Thomas Partey at the North London club.
However, with Jesus remaining sidelined for the long term, Eddie Nketiah is the sole striker for the Gunners up top and bringing in a number nine should be given more priority. It would only make sense to sign Tielemans after Arsenal resolve their striker situation or else adding more depth to the squad would be futile if the attack cannot flourish up top.
