Arsenal: Moise Kean the Wilfried Zaha coup

With reports stating Arsenal’s intention of pursuing Juventus teen Moise Kean, he would offer a bigger coup than primary wing target, Wilfried Zaha.

Not 24 hours after espousing the transfers for left-back Kieran Tierney and forward Wilfried Zaha, I stand writing a piece touting a different solution than Zaha. While Tierney’s seems plausible, near complete as per prior reports, Zaha’s was always going to be tougher with Crystal Palace asking between £80m and £100m for his transfer.

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Arsenal are bereft of the Champions League spot. As such, that move requires at least a few exports from north London. And so, a shift to another target might be in the offing. And reports of a potential move for Juventus forward Moise Kean inspires real excitement and thrill.

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At 19 years old, Italian forward Kean offers more upside than Zaha. While Zaha is 26 and largely finished his development, Kean is still a teenager with outlandish room to grow. Zaha’s prime is now, meaning that when Kean is hitting his peak, Zaha will be long past his.

The Palace attacker is a burst of light, a wicked dribbler and playmaker with a wonderful shot. But for the best return on investment, the time to have purchased him would’ve been when he moved back to Palace after his short stint for Manchester United.

Kean meanwhile, has the pace to move within any Unai Emery shape. While he has played much at the central striking position, his experience out wide makes him capable of supporting Arsenal in that position also. He would be able to spell Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, leading to more combinations for Emery to play with in dominating opponents defense. That depth, added to the front of a 4-3-3, mimics exactly what Zaha would’ve provided as well.

I suggested that in a 4-3-1-2, Zaha could even play in the position right between the midfield three and two striking options. His playmaking, pace, passing and scoring abilities make him a perfect threat to add pressure in pressing the box with passing, scoring and possession in general. Kean is also a wonderful fit here too. While the passing and playmaking can always improve, his current level and explosive ability would foreshadow a decade of improvement that Emery could exploit all over the pitch.

While Arsenal are interested enough to cause Raul Sanllehi to “jet in for the deal”, flying to Italy to attempt to secure the player is but a portion of the agreement. Juventus would prefer to loan him of course, but the Gunners want little to do with such a deal after with Dani Ceballos on the verge of a season-long loan already.

The second course Juventus plots is the player sale for £31.5m now, with the option for a £36m buy-back which expires in two years. While this is a brilliant strategy for the Old Lady, it is not in Arsenal’s best interest whatsoever. In two years, Kean will be much more valuable than £36m and also much more important to his team than he currently is in Turin. Arsenal are so adamantly opposed to either course that they have reportedly offered to pay £36m now to avoid the clause all together.

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The last big move from Turin to north London was Thierry Henry on the third of August, 1999, nearly two decades ago to the day. While Kean can’t be looked at as that yet by any means, his talent and aptitude for all things special as a footballer and striker, in particular, bode well for his future on any team.

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