Arsenal and Yacine Adli: Good enough for Robert Pires; good enough for me

Robert Pires has expressed his happiness with Arsenal’s impending signing of Yacine Adli to a professional contract. If he’s good enough for Bobby, he’s good enough for me.

Arsenal are on the search for more young players. They signed Konstantinos Mavropanos last January. They are reportedly close to signing 15-year-old Barcelona starlet, Joel Lopez. They are on the verge of agreeing to a first professional contract with Yacine Adli, a 17-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder who is highly regarded by the French club.

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I, obviously, do, or at least did, in the case of Mavropanos, not know anything about these players other than what a Google search can tell you.

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So when more knowledgeable individuals than I comment on the situation, I tend to listen to what they have to say. That is precisely what happened this weekend as the Gunners unveiled their new away kit (it’s much nicer than the home kit, thankfully).

Speaking at the event was Robert Pires, who, in being French and having regular contact with Arsenal, is in a unique situation to judge the Adli situation. Here is what the great man had to say regarding Adli, his talent, and whether he would be a good addition to make to help begin the Unai Emery era:

"“He’s a talented player. He has very good qualities, very fast with the ball. Sometimes he can score. I know Unai Emery likes this player. I don’t know what’s happened the last two days, but if he joins Arsenal, I think he will be a good player for the new squad.”"

That is encouraging to hear, for sure. I obviously have no clue as to the ability of Adli. He is clearly a very talented footballer. He would not be where he is if he wasn’t. And he has been the subject of interest from several clubs, including PSG themselves, who are obviously in the best position to accurately evaluate his potential.

And Pires’ opinion is simply another to help form my own perspective on the player. And if he is good enough for the great pidgeon-legged winger, then he is more than good enough for me. There are few people with the background and position to correctly judge Adli’s talent as well as Pires.

So, as Arsenal look to load themselves with another roll of the dice, if it is one that has the backing of a player as wonderful as Pires, then it’s one that I too am quite happy to back.

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Who knows how good a player Adli actually is or will be? At this point, it is nothing more than guesswork. But I am happy to support the guesswork of Pires over many others. If he’s good enough for Bobby Pires, he’s good enough for me.