Arsenal: Layvin Kurzawa and 6 other bad ideas we’ve had recently

5. Houssem Aouar

Houssem Aouar is, mostly, a good idea. But he fits under the same umbrella as Carlos Soler. He’s a good idea if the circumstances are right. It just so happens that the situation would be hard to make right at the moment.

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Aouar, being one of the darlings of the footballing world, could cost anywhere in the £50m range. That’s a lot of money for another Ligue 1 player who would need a ton of time to acclimate and probably wouldn’t be full firing for at least a season. Given that he would be expected to play a pivot role, a box-to-box midfielder, that’s too long of a wait for a guy we are paying to be an immediate solution. If we do want him to be a No. 10, then we’re spending a lot of money to fill a position that many don’t believe should even still be used so often.

To make the circumstances right, Aouar would have to be about half that price and he would have to be a peripheral player. Someone we ween into the starting XI. expecting him to be ready right from the off would be like expecting Nicolas Pepe to have been ready right from the start. It rarely ever works out that way.

I like Aouar and chances are, he’s going to be super-star. It’s just a huge risk at a vital position.

On to No. 4.