Arsenal: Piotr Zielinski a high risk, high reward summer solution

Arsenal’s summer is going to be an interesting one, but Piotr Zielinski would make it a lot less interesting – in the best way possible.

Aside from finding a new manager after 22 years not having worried about it, Arsenal have a lot to do this summer in terms of getting this team back on track. It starts with the defense, and figuring out the best way forward there.

But at least one defense there are a lot of options. The next manager may not even need to sign anyone if he trusts the youth enough to bank on them. It would be bold, but hey, success was never found through timidity.

The midfield, though, is the biggest question mark because just don’t know how many people are staying. Jack Wilshere is still unsigned and with Aaron Ramsey in need of a new deal as well, this club may be in dire need of a box-to-box type midfielder, preferably young, who can fill the role and not have much of a learning curve.

Enter Piotr Zielinski. I don’t know how this man has only now popped on the Arsenal transfer radar, because in terms of solutions, you won’t find a better one than he. But it’s not quite that simple.

Just 23-years old, the Polish midfielder is a versatile weapon that primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but has spent his time at Napoli as a straight central mid, with the ability to play as a winger as well.

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The main thing he brings is composure with the ball and a threat to goal. He has some fantastic attacking instincts, the has the engine to be a constant threat throughout a match and he could very well thrive in a Ramsey-esque role as a box-to-box, come-as-you-like midfielder with the ability to nick some goals as well as just being a driving force from deeper positions.

Zielinski’s potential is chomping at the bit to find a system that brings out the best in him. His goal contributions seem tame, but the threat he poses hints that the opportunity is there to turn those four to five goals and three to four assists into higher tallies, perhaps even in the double digit range.

The biggest question with him is price. Rumors have him costing somewhere around £50m, and at that price, he is a risk. You don’t want to pay that much for what he has produced in Italy. But the potential is what is driving that price tag up.

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This is an interesting one. A real, discussion-worthy, potential centerpiece of a transfer.

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