Arsenal: Miguel Almiron continues progress, but doesn’t complete

Arsenal are in the process of getting younger and getting more Emery-er, leaving behind the old ways. Miguel Almiron completes a good chunk of this, but not all of it.

Arsenal’s transition from Arsene Wenger’s last gasp at success to Unai Emery’s long-term deep dive into the ambitions of his new club is well underway. Emery is phasing in new, young players across the pitch, both in the attack and in defense.

But in the attack, there is an impending clash between some of the growing young players, namely Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe, and the remaining “old” players like Mkhitaryan and Ozil. Frankly, in terms of production, at least in the here and now, there isn’t much of a gulf.

I’d also like to think that at the flip of a switch, the old can be phased out for the young and new. Of course, the problem there is that there really aren’t enough young players at the club yet, and not enough diverse young ones either.

Flip the switch next summer and we could put together an attack of Iwobi, Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, when he returns. That’s good, but it’s not exactly reliable. Factor in Miguel Almiron and we are almost to a complete attacking overhaul in favor of the long-term.

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Almiron is exactly the kind of No. 10 that I think Unai Emery is looking to get out of Ramsey, someone high-octane, all over the pitch, who doesn’t lose out on productivity despite his increased work ethic.

Plus, at 24-years-old, he fits right into the sweet spot of the next generation of Arsenal midfield talent.

But landing Miguel Almiron is only have of the task. You can slip him into the starting XI as a No. 10 and flank him with any number of shoe-horned wide attackers, but for the sake of completing the progress that has been on the docket for years, the next logical step after Almiron, assuming he is complete, is to find a winger that can start opposite Nelson or Iwobi.

Otherwise, we’re still close to completing the attacking puzzle, but not 100% there. I think Almiron is a fantastic addition, and someone who can help push the club towards a better future of sustainability.

But that doesn’t distract from how much we still need at least one more winger. Maybe it’s Nicolas Pepe, maybe someone else entirely. But someone. We can’t live life with just Nelson and Iwobi as winging options.