Arsenal and Dominik Szoboszlai: Why not roll the dice?

Arsenal are being linked with a move for 18-year-old Hungarian midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai. It might not be all that exciting, but why not the roll the dice on a reportedly prodigious talent?

As soon as the initial reports that Arsenal would have a measly £40-45 million to spend in the summer, it was clear what kind of business would entail for the Gunners: cheap, young deals with plenty of flaws but also a whole lot of upside and potential.

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While dreaming of players like Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha was all well and good, it was never going to happen. The financial restrictions placed on the club meant as such. And so, in their quest to rebuild a faltering squad that has already fallen well off the elite Premier League pace, Unai Emery and his band of merry men look deeper and farther than their rivals.

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And it looks as though that is precisely what they are doing. This week, it was reported that the Gunners are chasing 18-year-old Hungarian midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai, the Red Bull Salzburg starlet seen as a potential replacement for Aaron Ramsey in a creative, attacking number eight role — the reports stemmed from freelance reporter Peter O’Rourke.

Now, I have no idea who Szoboszlai is. He is seemingly prodigious, a rare talent who is commanding a £9 million valuation at just 18 years of age. He has ten goals and 11 assists across 29 games in the Austrian first and second divisions, Austria Cup and Europa League. He is seen as a potential star, although there is a whole long way to go in his development, of course — if you want a really nice summary of his skills and career thus far, I will point you to this interview with Hungarian football journalist, Tom Mortimer.

Without not knowing much about Szoboszlai or his abilities, for a reported £9 million fee, I am all for this kind of deal. Cheap, high potential, not much financial risk. Although signing a teenage Hungarian who has a little more than a handful of senior appearances may seem a little underwhelming, the question to ask yourself is ‘why not?’

Why not sign a highly gifted young footballer who allegedly has the skill level to make it in the Premier League and succeed Ramsey in the heart of the Arsenal midfield? The risk is so low, the reward is so great. And even if Szoboszlai flames out and never amounts to his ceiling, which is what Mortimer hinted at amid concerns that Arsenal may be too big for him at this stage, the club should still be able to flip him and at the very least break even.

As Chelsea and Liverpool are proving, investing in young players is all about probability, signing lots of them, developing them in house, and accepting that many will not make it in your first team but can still be used as an asset to sell on.

Szoboszlai is a risk worth taking. And that, primarily, is because there isn’t much risk to take in the first place. So why not take another roll of the dice?