Arsenal: Why attach Dominik Szoboszlai to Aaron Ramsey?

Arsenal need to get some business done, and replacing Aaron Ramsey is certainly a part of it, but why attach Dominik Szoboszlai to that trap?

Arsenal have yet to move anything this summer, other than the ridiculous amount of talent that walked out of the door for free. Rather than focusing on top-tier talent, they’re trying to beat the system and load up on younger players like Dominik Szoboszlai.

Which is great. I love that strategy because it avoids the inflated transfer fees and allows us the chance to build a firm foundation for the long-term. That’s all well and good, but when we start attaching massive “to-do” lists to these young players, it rarely ever turns out well.

Dominik Szoboszlai is the latest name to appear on the transfer spectrum. The Red Bull Salzburg midfielder broke into the Austrian Champions last year, scoring three goals in 16 appearances, but he also made one tremendous appearance in the Europa League, creating four chances, notching an assist, and winning the ball back five times in just 74 minutes of play.

For an 18-year-old, that’s a positive output for limited time on the pitch. Again, he fits the mold of trying to snatch up these talented players before they have a full-on breakout year that announced their ability to the entire world.

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All signs look positive for this young man, but my question is why he is immediately being touted as “Aaron Ramsey‘s replacement”?

Never in my time have I seen anyone’s “replacement” end up replacing the player they were meant to be replacing. It remains one of the most annoying tendencies of the modern game. Putting an 18-year-old from the Austrian Bundesliga up against the challenge of replacing a legend like Aaron Ramsey is asking way too much and it’s entirely unnecessary.

Dominik Szoboszlai looks like a tremendous athlete, he looks like the kind of player that would be an exciting addition to the team, but setting the bar so rigidly before he even arrives is similar to what happened with Lucas Torreira being immediately compared to N’Golo Kante.

Just let the guy be himself.

Supposedly, the Gunners are ready to drop £9m on this young man, which is a hefty fee for someone if you’re not expecting them to be in the first team.

That said, all I have to say is Matteo Guendouzi. If it worked once, it can work again.