Arsenal: Malcom should be preferred over Anthony Martial anyway

Arsenal supposedly tried to hit up Manchester United for Anthony Martial, but Malcom is the better choice going forward anyway.

Arsenal have supposedly been told to bugger off by Manchester United as they sought the services of Anthony Martial in exchange for giving the Red Devils Alexis Sanchez. Martial has been playing a bit part role with United, but it’s plain to see the talent that is there.

That said, being told no is giving the Gunners a chance to turn back to the guy they really should be focused on – Malcom. Because when you factor in all the contextual stuff, the Brazilian is the better investment. So let’s get into why.

For starters, Malcom is going to cost less now, in an even more inflated transfer market, then Martial cost back then. And with Arsenal, you always – always – have to factor in money, because this is Arsenal and we have Stan Kroenke.

That aside though, the main draw for Martial is that he has Premier League experience. And that’s great and all. But the thing that United did that was so brilliant with Martial is they got him right as he was about to explode into his potential.

The young Frenchman had totaled just nine goals and three assists in his final year at Monaco when he was 19. He came to United at the age of 20 and drilled home 11 goals and four assists. When you factor in that he played 700 more minutes at United, though, he actually contributed to less goals (every 152 minutes compared to every 175) but it’s silly to draw a distinction over that.

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He hit his rough spot, as is likely to happen to everyone, but at 22, he is one of the bright young talents of the Premier League.

Malcom can be Arsenal’s version of that. There is no need to prey on United’s up-and-comer when we can establish one of our own. The Brazilian is 20 years old and, while he obviously has no Premier League experience, the next best thing is to find success on a lower-tier team.

Malcom is doing that. He is now in his second full year with Bordeaux and he is averaging a goal contribution every 129 minutes, better than Martial managed at a top-tier team like Monaco. Not just that, but he is creating twice as many chances as Martial was creating. In terms of maintaining possession, something we should be conscious of given Alexis Sanchez’s problems, Malcom is averaging the exact same 3.5 possession losses per match as Martial was in his final year with Monaco.

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Malcom is the real deal and he will be ranked right up there next to Martial when we acquire him. Just because he isn’t “proven” in England (which Martial isn’t entirely yet either) doesn’t mean that he isn’t the preferable option.

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