Arsenal Suffer Dominik Szoboszlai Transfer Hammer Blow

Arsenal need creativity. In other news, water is wet.

Talk of a move for Dominik Szoboszlai is not born out of the ashes of Arsenal’s most recent Premier League outing. That defeat certainly peddled it along faster, but the Hungarian has been linked with the north London club for a number of months.

Who can blame them? Szoboszlai is an exceptional talent destined for a fruitful career in European football, beyond what he’s already achieved with with Red Bull Salzburg.

Despite him only just recently turning 20 years old, the versatile forward’s skillset is vast, causing heads to turn across the continent.

Arsenal’s gaze has already been caught, with talks between both clubs and confirmation of interest by the player’s agent naturally sparking some excitement in the fanbase. Throw in a meagre release clause of just €25m (£22.5m) and just one thought springs to mind: no-brainer.

But.

Indeed, that dreaded but had to crop up and throw a spanner in the works. Given he’s a player of such immeasurable talent, it was bound to happen.

As per Sport Bild over in Germany, Red Bull Salzburg’s sibling across the border, RB Leipzig, have joined the race and are even thought to be ahead of Arsenal, who the publication confirm as being in the hunt.

No sugar coating, the news is a significant blow considering that Salzburg has become the Bundesliga side’s feeder club since the takeover in 2009. With Leipzig going on to become Red Bull’s main football project, a huge number of the Austrian side’s players made the move over, including standout duo Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano.

Essentially, they’ll get first pick.

It’s not all cut and dry, but the odds are always stacked in Die Roten Bullen’s favour in this particular instance. As previously mentioned, Szoboszlai was touted to be in contention to remain in a German speaking nation, which too could aid Julian Nagelsmann, but equally they do boast a number of players who suit that mould. Unlike Arsenal that is, who are crying out for player diversity.

Given the low release clause and Salzburg’s history of willingness to sell in January, we can hope this deal is being worked on by the club over the course of the international break. However, sometimes, certain factors turn the tide one way or the other.