Arsenal: Ousmane Dembele vs Thomas Lemar a no-contest

Arsenal’s need for a winger may have fallen into the “secondary” category, but it’s still necessary, and in the debate of Lemar vs Dembele, there is no debate.

Arsenal are gearing there attack towards a clear principle – narrowness. With Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and no one set to challenge them, there is no option for width. Rather, there is just no option. Period.

Everyone else that the Gunners have in their employ fall into the same category or are untested. There is no true winger and, ever since Alexis and Theo Walcott left, there is no direct threat to slice and dice opponents with speed and agility.

Hence the links to Thomas Lemar and Ousmane Dembele. Arsenal’s need for a true winger (preferably two) is well known, if, again, for no other reason than to provide some sort of fallback when Ozil and Mkhitaryan find their narrow attacking lanes clogged.

So which is it then? Lemar or Dembele? Both are pushing upwards near £100m, so, chances are, one has to be picked, and not both.

There really isn’t any debate. It’s Dembele by a landslide. Dembele is speed-centered, agile with his cuts and plays towards the corner flag. He can do other things besides, but that’s his primary agenda, spread the pitch so that he can pick off defenders one on one.

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Lemar plays wide, but he’s no winger. He is of the type that will cut inside and does so without speed or quickness, but moreso with composure and intelligence. Yes, he provides more width than Ozil or Mkhitaryan, but Lemar doesn’t play towards the corner flag or even stay near the touchline. At least not like Dembele does.

Lemar is a thinker and a creator, which is quite different than being an actual winger. There was even talk of him being a more natural No. 10 than anything else. Which is literally the last thing that we need.

Which solves the debate. In the quest for a young-20s, overpriced winger, go with the actual winger, and not the creative wide player.

All that said, when you introduce Leon Bailey to the equation, the whole thing is blown up. Bailey and Dembele (a fantastic sounding duo, no?) are similar in their playing styles and Bailey has proven to be one of the best up-and-coming wide players in the world.

Next: 3 Reasons Mohamed Elneny Contract Matters

In the end, the key is simple – get an actual winger, not someone who simply plays on the wings.