Arsenal: Chris Richards will have Gooners singing Yankee Doodle Dandy

Arsenal aren’t a club known for stocking young American talents, but if Chris Richard is there, then let’s jam out to some Yankee Doodle Dandy.

I don’t often purposely create cringe-worthy article titles, but I went all out here. Mostly because I love exploiting the bias against Americans present in just about all Premier League fans, not just at Arsenal. Personal beef aside, if Chris Richards is out there and available, he is a smart, sensible addition to give this defense something to look forward to.

As it stands, the Gunners are gaining William Saliba, a young French defender who we hope can anchor this defense for years to come. We have Konstantinos Mavropanos somewhere out there on the excitement list, now having spent two years at the club and seemingly having gone backward.

Zech Medley is also down there somewhere. He’s hardly been mentioned since he got his glorious left-footed debut for the senior club.

All things considered, with David Luiz a veteran, Calum Chambers now nearing his prime, Pablo Mari up there, we could definitely use a little youthful spark on the defense to couple with the Saliba train.

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Chris Richards is that guy. He is right at that point in his career, nestled safely in the Bayern Munich youth system, when his value is about to erupt. He’s an immensely talented young man who rose through the prestigious FC Dallas youth system (the same that churned out Weston McKennie) and could be the next great young American.

Chelsea already got in on the racket, splurging on Christian Pulisic, but the Gunners have never been big on American talent. Gedion Zelalem was as close as we got, along with Danny Karbassiyoon.

But if we’re going to start tapping into the footballing factory that is Brazil, we might as well start tapping into the American footballing factory as well. Yes, I said it.

The Bundesliga has been tapped into this pool of young talent for years and it’s lead to guys like Pulisic and McKennie, who are some of the best young talents in the world. Tyler Adams, Josh Sargent and more are all part of the next wave.

So too is Chris Richards, who has been likened to Jerome Boateng for his impressive athleticism to couple with his physical frame. Sounds exactly like what Mikel Arteta is looking for on that backline he’s crafting. And for a negligible price, if this deal can be done it has to be done.