Arsenal: Asano A Better Investment Than Batshuayi

Arsenal has done the unpopular thing and ignored the high profile young striker Michy Batshuayi in favor of the unknown Takuma Asano. Fret not!

I bought into the Michy Batshuayi hype when he was at Standard Liege. I thought he was a real cool dude and I wanted Arsenal to sign him. Right then and there. For once, buy into the Belgian golden age.

Ever since Batshuayi played his time at Marseille, I have been singing a different tune. Let someone else take that leap. Not Arsenal.

First off, so I don’t lose all you readers right away, let me say that I do think he is a talented lad that could turn into something special. I’m not writing this to rip him apart and I’m not claiming he has no value. So now that you know where I’m going with this, let me get into it.

Michy Batshuayi would have been a catastrophe at Arsenal. People compare him to a young Romelu Lukaku but the only similarities are the Belgian nationality, the hair, and the fact that they both have very high opinions of themselves. Batshuayi didn’t want to go to Crystal Palace. They weren’t big enough for him. That’s fair, he can make his own decisions and he did get a bigger team. But he really hasn’t proven all that much just yet.

Batshuayi is not Romelu Lukaku. Despite the fact that his price tag would suggest that he is. Batshuayi is a hybrid striker. He isn’t a big guy, and he doesn’t use his size or strength, but he overly isn’t quick either. He just kind of does his thing, he scores goals.

Well then what am I complaining about? Let me tell you. He doesn’t use his strength well, he loses possession. It’s a lot of the same reasons why I do not like the idea of Lukaku coming to Arsenal. They both get caught offside because they don’t get back.

Does he score goals? Sure. In France and Belgium. Anyone that wants to point to Lacazette and say he’s the French Walcott needs to look to Batshuayi and realize that he is the undersized, less inspiring Lukaku.

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The worst part about Batshuayi coming to Arsenal would have been the fact that he would have expected to start. And he isn’t ready. Absolutely he is not. Which is why I don’t think Wenger made a play for him. Plus, he’s not what Arsenal needs anyway. He’s not a quick striker and he isn’t the strong striker that can play like Giroud. He’s a poacher, a one-trick pony. He has no aerial presence. No great passing ability.

This may make me sound crazy, but I don’t like that his only strength is goal scoring. Does that make me sound crazy? Arsenal plays a team game. They need the full, unabated effort of everyone on the pitch. They would not have gotten that from Batshuayi.

For £33m, Arsenal would not have found a solution. They would have found a project who doesn’t see himself as a project. He would not have been ready to assume the starting role of Arsenal right from the start. Much like Takuma Asano, it would have taken a year or two before he scratched the surface of being a starter.

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It’s not worth it. Call me crazy, but in terms of investment, Asano makes more sense than Batshuayi. Maybe Batshuayi in five years is a better striker than Asano, but in terms of right now, and what Arsenal needs, I have no problem saying that I would have rather seen Arsenal sign the unknown than the ‘known’.

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