Arsenal: If youth is the answer, is Jarrod Bowen the solution?

Over the last 24 hours Arsenal have been linked with a multitude of wingers, but a relatively new name on the list is that of Hull City’s Jarrod Bowen. With Arsenal signing youngsters and seemingly looking to build for the future under Emery, is he the answer to the winger problem?

I know exactly what you’re thinking. Another winger? Where are all the defenders that Arsenal desperately need to sure up our leaky defense? Well, I can’t answer that for you, but I can give you an answer about whether Jarrod Bowen is a player that could help solve our winger crisis.

Bowen has flown a little under the radar considering the season that he had. He scored 22 goals and assisted four in 46 games in the Championship last season as well as getting into the EFL Team of the Season, whilst he scored 14 and assisted one the season before that.

For comparison, Daniel James who just signed for Manchester United for around £15 million scored just four and assisted seven for Swansea in 33 games.

Admittedly, his assist total is a little on the low side for a winger but his goals tally is excellent, which is certainly something that we would love to have in a winger to take some of the pressure off of the strikers when they are struggling or being marked out of a game.

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Jarrod Bowen is the kind of player who is not your typical Zaha-esque breakaway winger, but one that can, according to total football analysis, “wriggle his way through opponent lines” and “excel in tight spaces”.

Isn’t that the exact kind of winger that we need when we play against the Burnley’s and Crystal Palace’s next season who just camp ten men behind the ball?

According to The S*n, Arsenal might be able to snap Bowen up for around £12 million, which is a steal in comparison to the price quoted for Zaha, and even in comparison to Daniel James if true.

Bearing in mind that Bowen is only 22 years old and has played in the Championship, which is a very physical and demanding league, he shouldn’t have too many issues acclimatizing to the Premier League. It would also mean that we have more money to spend in the areas that desperately need improving, like the defense. Especially with his lower wage demands.

Whilst personally I wouldn’t mind seeing someone like Malcom come in on loan with an option to buy from Barcelona, if he was available, Bowen poses an interesting option at a time when our finances are low.

Even if he isn’t currently a huge name player, he has the skills and potential to develop into one and could become a fantastic player for the best part of a decade for us, or an asset that could be sold for big profit in the future. Either way, he is a viable answer to our current winger problem without blocking the path of our upcoming youth talent.