Arsenal: 15 major transfer rumors rated by plausibility and need

8. Houssem Aouar—Plausibility 6/10, Need 5/10

Houssem Aouar would be the hottest young name on the world footballing market if not for Kai Havertz. Havertz has captured everyone’s attention to such an extent that Aouar, who plays essentially the same role, gets pushed aside.

That is prime Arsenal territory. The kind of signing they love to make. My beef with it, and the reason I don’t rank the need as too terrible high, is that he is a young Ligue 1 midfielder with a ton of acclimation likely needed. He’s not a physical specimen, he’s not all that secure with the ball. Yes, he creates goals but that just about never translates from France to England.

That being said, Aouar does pay a position of extreme need. He is a midfield pivot, even though I hesitate to call him that because I’m not sure he could successfully play the role in the Premier League without a steep learning curve. Which could land him as a No. 10 for the time being, but even that I’m not sold on.

I like the idea of Aouar as a rotational option to grow into the club, but for the price he’s going to command, that seems unrealistic. He’d be thrown right into a serious role and I don’t think that’s the best idea. Of course, it’s not up to me. Our Arsenal clearly loves going after Ligue 1 players and that could be the case yet again here.