Arsenal: Who needs signings when you have Donyell Malen?

Arsenal need to explore numerous striker options this summer, but even if the worst case comes to pass and no one signs, we still have Donyell Malen.

In 2014/15 it was Hector Bellerin. 2015/16 it was Alex Iwobi. 2016/17 it was Rob Holding. Young players who break through into the Arsenal first team and prove that age and transfer cost isn’t always the determinant for who can have a big impact in a big way.

Bellerin is now a regular, Iwobi is on the cusp and Rob Holding should be starting every match without a doubt.

Arsenal needs to start finding some solutions this summer. Arsene Wenger is right, they don’t necessarily need anything other than a couple top quality signings. That would ideally mean a striker, as we have been waiting for since Robin van Persie left.

But without Champions League football, it is going to be awfully hard to find players willing to take a step back. Which is massively problematic seeing as how this is a crucial year for Arsenal, mainly in terms of prolonging the stays of guys like Alexis Sanchez.

Best case scenario, Arsenal can sway a top quality striker into taking that trip to North London with the assurance that they will be back in the Champions League next year.

Worst case, they can’t quite find the right player. It’s happened before. If that’s the case, the key is simply finding another option up front. If that option has upside, then all the better.

2017/18 can be Donyell Malen‘s. The 18 year old Dutch striker has been shooting through the Arsenal system and is currently rocking out with the U23s, where he actually showed an increase in goal production from his U18 performances.

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Malen has been back and forth between both youth teams, playing all across that front like of the attack. He has exactly what the Gunners would want in a young striker, the question is if he is reliable enough yet to take that big step into the first team. We know it’s going to happen at some point, why not next year?

Numerous authorities in the Gunner youth system are indicating that Malen is ready to make his initial voyage to the first team this coming year. Not only that, but super agent Mino Raiola, who represents countless superstars, has pinpointed this young man as the one he is most excited about.

He isn’t the solution that we are all longing for. But in terms of the secondary objective of finding someone to be a rotational option with a different skill set than what we have, then Malen is indeed a solution. Not just that, but we have seen plenty of teenage strikers shock the world.

Next: Arsenal's Potential Starting XI Under Max Allegri

Marcus Rashford and Kylian Mbappe, for instance, have all appeared on the scene and captured the attention of the world of football. Why can’t Malen be next?

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