Arsenal: Is Leon Bailey already in the realm of ‘pipe dream’?

Arsenal need wide attacking options, and Leon Bailey is among the best, so why is it that the Gunners are already out of the running?

Arsenal play a very narrow attacking style. With Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the go-to guys behind the striker, the only depth to be found has to come from the two fullbacks, which isn’t always the best option, because of how exposed it can leave the defense.

It would be nice if the Gunners had, at the very least, an option or two to add to their weaponry that would allow them to stretch play and provide more width, without having to expose the entire back line.

That’s not asking too much is it?

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Apparently it is, because among the mass of initial transfer rumors, there is literally zero talk about any sort of speedy, wide attacker joining the club. Thomas Lemar is still being (foolishly) tossed around, but he’s another Mkhitaryan.

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Malcom hasn’t entered the conversation again, and even he isn’t the prototypical winger that many believe that we need.

Leon Bailey was, to me, the perfect solution. Young, ambitious, a rising star, now appeared the time to grab him, but Bayer Leverkusen know what they have in the young man, and are demanding a massive fee for the young man, who rocked out with 12 goals and six assists across all competitions. 

Given that Leverkusen will be in the Europa League, not the Champions League where everyone wants to be, it is expected that Bailey will be on the move, but as of right now, only bids from Bayern Munich (surprise!) and interest from Real Madrid is being reported. 

The bid from Bayern was only around the £50m range, however, which seems like something well within the possibility for the Gunners to swing. When they sold Theo Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, they essentially eliminated all winger options. As such, this is that missing priority this summer.

Of course, just because that is the initial bid from Bayern doesn’t mean that it will be accepted, but the Gunners should absolutely still be in the boxing ring for Leon Bailey, and not mere spectators. If the name of the game is finding young stars to push towards a better future, you won’t find many better.

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It feels like Bailey has already exceeded the realm of possibility, which isn’t a good feeling given how much of a slam dunk (sport puns!) his signing would be.