Arsenal: Gunners should take advantage of Barcelona’s mismanagement

With FC Barcelona struggling to keep the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Malcom happy, Arsenal should be the first in line to take advantage of their mismanagement.

Against all odds, Arsenal are having a solid season thus far. And their good form this year was epitomized by the hard-fought draw against one of the favorites to win the Premier League, Liverpool, on Saturday.

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Despite all of the positives that came with equalling one of the best teams in the country, many problems that have been highlighted throughout the year were accentuated in the match. And there was one more than any that was most noticeable: The Gunners need for a winger is becoming more and more apparent as games come and go.

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Funnily enough, FC Barcelona just so happen to have two fantastic wingers. And they both appear to want to leave the club in order to find regular first-team football elsewhere. Both Ousmane Dembele and Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira, formally known as Malcom, have been rumored with moves to north London in the recent past. Both seemingly solve Arsenal’s lack of production from out wide. And both could be available if they do indeed push for minutes away from the Nou Camp. But, could these moves actually come to fruition and would either of the pair fit Arsenal’s credentials?

Let’s start with Dembele. He is undoubtedly one of the best young players in the world at the moment. At 21 years of age, the Frenchman already expects to be a starter in Barcelona’s star-studded squad, as well as Frances’s, and rightfully so. Unfortunately for the former Borussia Dortmund winger, he has not been getting nearly as much game time as he would have preferred this season.

Constantly putting in fantastic performances off the bench is basically showing every other team in Europe that he is still a fantastic footballer, but is not enough to convince his own team that he should start. Dembele would be an ideal addition to the Arsenal squad. However, his price tag may be what prevents that from ever actually happening.

Prying the young gem from Barcelona’s grasps would most likely cost around £100 million pounds, a figure in the same ballpark as what Barca paid Dortmund two summers ago, and that is not a deal that any sensible Arsenal fan could possibly picture actually happening. That being said, if Dembele begins to force a move, the price could plummet. This is a possibility that Arsenal should not simply disregard.

If Arsenal were to steal any winger away from the La Liga champions, it would be that of Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira. The Brazilian winger has reportedly told Ernesto Valverde that he will part ways with the club in the January transfer window if he is not given more game time. An influx of elite European clubs are on red alert and see the possibility of stealing the fantastically talented, though somewhat inconsistent, attacker from Barcelona. The Gunners are reportedly interested in swooping for him, according to various outlets, in the January transfer window. But the legitimacy of these rumors is not yet determinable.

There is no doubt that one of the few things missing from this much-improved squad from last season is a ‘chalk on the boots’ winger. Both Malcom and Dembele would be perfect players to fill the void out wide. But luring them away from the Spanish giants would be a move that is significantly easier said than done.