Arsenal: Gedion Zelalem Exit Would Worsen Bleeding

Arsenal has a wealth of young talents, but the exiting has begun with Serge Gnabry. The bleeding must be stopped and that means Gedion Zelalem must stay.

There was a time when Gedoin Zelalem was the top prospect in the Arsenal system. He is built in the exact same model as Mesut Ozil, just without the experience. But at 19 years old, there is so much time for him and after his development at Rangers, it has to just be a matter of time.

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But that is the problem. As Serge Gnabry demonstrated with his prompt and non-negotiable exit, when you need time, sometimes you get antsy and look elsewhere.

Gnabry was more likely to fetch time with the Gunner’s first team – far more likely, actually – than Zelalem, and it was the German that made way and zipped off back to the homeland, where he is now flourishing with all the time he could ever have dreamed of.

That doesn’t bode well for Gedion Zelalem, at least not from an Arsenal standpoint. Zelalem has to be a bit frustrated that his chances aren’t coming, and then he looks at his former youth level team mate Gnabry and sees how well he is doing and how that crucial step will get him to the next big level.

It would not be shocking to see Zelalem push for an exit, especially to Borussia Dortmund. Zelalem spent time in Germany, used to represent the German’s internationally, Dortmund have a history of sending out the young guys and he has a future U.S. international team mate there in Christian Pulisic.

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There are a lot of pieces in play here to make this a major threat to anyone hoping to keep him.

Which is a problem. Gnabry’s exit sliced a wound into the Arsenal body, but it can get worse and worse the more people leave and show how nice it can be to get noticed elsewhere. Gnabry set it up, but if Zelalem were to leave and latch on at Dortmund, then we may have a bigger issue on our hands, as these 19-20 year old prospects who believe they are ready – and damn well might be – go somewhere else to prove it.

Zelalem would be a perfect segway from Ozil if he can just hold out for a while longer. That won’t be easy, but there has to be a way to lock him in. Which brings up the other problem – that his contract is up at the end of the year.

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A lot of factors are working to pull him away from North London, let’s just hope that as many, if not more, factors are working to keep him in town too.