Arsenal and Ryan Fraser: Sadio Mane the hope

According to The Times, Arsenal are considering a move for Ryan Fraser. The best the Gunners can hope for from the signing is a Sadio Mane-type impact.

Like it or not, Arsenal are attempting a new project with not a lot of money to invest in it. Where Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have assembled two of the most complete teams in the league through smart investment and player development, the Gunners are now attempting to replicate.

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Sadly, they have neither the resources or the player assets to sell to raise said resources that Liverpool and Spurs have utilised to their benefit over the years. Arsenal have also been wasteful with the money that they have spent. A combined £87 million on Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez was hardly the most productive 2016 summer window.

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Under new direction, the club must now look for cheaper options that they can coach up and develop in-house. Many of the stars of the Liverpool and Spurs teams are worth far more now than what was paid for them. The same process must now take place at the Emirates. And it all starts with identifying and acquiring the right talent for the right price.

This week, The Times reported that Ryan Fraser of Bournemouth has attracted the decision makers at London Colney, namely head coach Unai Emery and head of football Raul Sanllehi. The 25-year-old whippet winger is hardly the most inspiring of targets. With many fans dreaming of Wilfried Zaha and Nicolas Pepe, Fraser is not quite the name that is going to get people excited. But this season, he has been extremely productive in a pacy, exciting Bournemouth team, notching ten assists, the third-most in the Premier League, and scoring six goals.

Should a signing be made, and there is still a long way to go for that to become even a likely possibility, the kind of trajectory that Arsenal might be hoping for is Sadio Mane at Liverpool. Liverpool signed Mane for £34 million in the 2016 summer transfer window.

The year previous, he scored 11 goals and had six assists, an eerily comparable record to Fraser at Bournemouth this season. He was 24 at the time of the move; Fraser is now 25. He played for a middling but bright Southampton team; Fraser’s Bournemouth have been very similar this season. There are plenty of parallels to be made. And players with the type of development as Mane’s are the ones that Arsenal should be looking to sign.

This season, Mane has been excellent for Liverpool, scoring a team-high 17 league goals. In the Premier League, only Sergio Aguero has more. He has been a key reason regarding their sustained title challenge against the seemingly all-conquering Manchester City. But he was not this calibre of footballer when Liverpool signed him. He developed.

That is what Arsenal, should they try and sign him this summer, would be hoping for Fraser. He is a good player with an enticing skill set. Can he become a great player? Mane did. Why not him too?