Arsenal: 5 Forwards to Target in January

Donyell Malen – Striker/Winger

Remember him? Likely not apart from his name, as Donyell Malen never made a competitive senior appearance for Arsenal during his two years with the youth sides – although he did feature in a 2-0 in over Sydney on a pre-season tour.

Snapped up from Ajax in 2015, he was not given the assurances of first team football that he’d hoped for, since moving on to PSV Eindhoven in the 2017 summer window. Starting off in their youth side, he had no problems dealing with the standard and was soon promoted up to the first team squad, where he really began making a name for himself in the 2019/20 campaign.

17 goals across 25 outings – a spell cut short by injury – has filtered through into the current season, where he’s notched seven goals in 13 Eredivisie outings – 14 overall.

His form sparked call-ups to the Dutch national side, although while he’s found the net east to find over the past 18 months, whether he can replicate such form in the Premier League is another matter. However, Arsenal fielded him mainly as a winger during his time with the the club, while he’s since found joy centrally.

PSV are likely to command a hefty fee – one much too pricey for what Malen is worth – although his continued prolific spell in front of goal does raise Carlo Ancelotti-like curious eyebrows.