Arsenal: Justin Kluivert the promising youngster worth pursuing

Arsenal are tentatively being linked with a move for Justin Kluivert. If there is even a smidge of a chance of signing him, they must jump at the opportunity.

Justin Kluivert, son of FC Ajax and Barcelona legend Patrick Kluivert, is attracting quite the interest. He currently plies his trade at Ajax, first with the famous youth academy and now with the first team, and many top teams are routinely linked with him, including Arsenal. But should they be? Is he the type of young prospect that they should be looking to acquire?

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The Gunners are linked with pretty much every player under the sun. But this one is different.  Kluivert is a special player.

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His blistering pace and quick feet, coupled with a footballing brain, are mouth-watering for some managers. He has come up through the famed Ajax academy, which has produced so many greats before him, and has the natural possessional ability to make it in the Premier League. If Arsenal have the chance to sign him, they should seize the opportunity. And there is a need for him.

When comparing the benches in the Carabao Cup Final, I couldn’t help but notice the gap in quality. Manchester City had Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus; Arsenal had Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi Silva and Jesus have been brilliant this year, with Jesus scoring for fun and Silva coming off the bench to cause more havoc for the opposition defense. The same cannot quite be said for either Welbeck or Iwobi.

If Arsenal were to add a player of Kluivert’s ability, they would be adding pure potential and promise to there bench. He could grow into a real superstar, someone that could be the next Neymar or Kylian Mbappe, though let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

He’s still young and inexperienced, and that can be turbulent and unpredictable when introduced to the Premier League. His pace and dribbling have helped his reputation at Ajax, and he is held in high regard in the Netherlands, having scoring six goals in 21 appearances, but there is much work to be done.

But the talent is there, as is the opportunity. And at just 18 years of age, Arsenal would have the opportunity to mould him as they see fit, providing him with minutes as a reserve, gradually easing him into a senior role.

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The need for depth. The natural talent of the player. The inordinate potential of the partnership. This seems like a move that makes too much sense. The only stumbling block: Competition. Competition raises the price. Competition turns Kluivert’s gaze elsewhere. Competition lessens the chances of any move ever actually happening. But if the chance is there, Wenger and the club should be pursuing it.