In a recent interview (via Football 365), Mikael Silvestre urged his former club Arsenal to not move in for Borussia Dortmund ace Julian Brandt. Silvestre said,
“I don’t think it’s a necessity for Arsenal to look for a player like Julian Brandt.
“You’ve got players at Arsenal already doing that job really well. You’ve got Emile Smith-Rowe in the reserves as well.
“Unless they want to play with two number 10s, but yeah I don’t think he’s a priority for next season.”
Brandt’s Impressive Form In German Football This Season
The 26-year-old is experiencing a decent campaign at Signal Iduna Park after he put in a series of impressive performances for Dortmund in the final third. Brandt has found the back of the net on nine occasions and earned five assists in 36 appearances for the German outfit this season in all competitions.
The 39-time German international has been a consistent performer in the opponent’s half as he is averaging 1.2 shots, 2.2 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per 90 minutes in Bundesliga. He has even been accurate when distributing possession in the final third as he has completed 83.8% of his attempted passes in the top tier of German football (stats via whoscored).
What Should Arsenal Boss Mikel Arteta Do With Regards To Brandt?
Brandt is proficient at finding space for himself to get a few strikes in at goal. He can shoot the ball with power and accuracy from long range and has got the vision to engineer a few meaningful chances on the attacking end of the field. Brandt primarily operates as an attacking midfielder but can also operate as a winger on either flank if asked to do so.
The German sensation is a decent dribbler with the ball as well but needs to be more productive in front of the opponent’s goal.
However, Arsenal are currently well-stocked in the attacking department as they have got both Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe capable of playing in the number ten position where Brandt has made a name for himself at Dortmund.
Thus, the Gunners should not move in for Brandt but would be better off strengthening other areas of their match-day squad when the transfer window commences later this year.
