Arsenal: 8 Emi Buendia alternative transfer targets

Arsenal will not be signing Emi Buendia this summer and the sooner that spilled milk is stopped crying over, the better. Time to move on and source other targets in this transfer window as Mikel Arteta and co dust themselves down to go again. Time for some alternatives.

Nobody should be particularly enthused by Arsenal’s inability to get this deal over the line, regardless of whether he was the right target or worth the £40m outlay Aston Villa will eventually part with.

It constitutes a recruitment failing, one with both unfortunate and fortunate timing. On the positive note, this happened early into the summer leaving over 12 weeks to make amends, while it can also set a dangerous precedent and show weakness before the window even opens.

Time to move on in any case.

Arsenal: 8 Emi Buendia alternative transfer targets who Mikel Arteta could look at in the summer window

With Martin Odegaard the other primary playmaker target, it’s key to note how different the two players are stylistically. The Norwegian is a No. 10 who flourishes in the right half-space whereas Buendia is a right-winger who has the adaptability to play inside and merge into a No. 8/No. 10 hybrid.

Very different, and very interesting.

Therefore, if Arsenal were to go out and seek a similar(ish) profile to Buendia it would be someone unlike the former loanee. Across Europe players of that ilk are becoming a more common occurrence as full-backs often become the leading wide attacking outlet and the creative wide players drift infield. Buendia excelled at this with his wide-ranging skillset and outstanding defensive contributions, so finding and ‘alternative‘ will prove troublesome.

Working on the basis that another profile of his ilk – a right-sided winger/playmaker who can operate both inside and outside – will be sought after, here are eight options that Arteta may look at in his bid banish these early demons.

*Stats courtesy of fbref and Understat.

Ruslan Malinovskyi – Atalanta

Few players in world football finished last season as strongly as Ruslan Malinovskyi, who hit farcical numbers for Atalanta as they secured a third place finish in Serie A.

The final ten games of the season saw him bag no less than six goals and nine assists, only completing the 90 minutes in two of those. Epitomising the brutality of Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, the controlled carnage of Malinovskyi is invigorating to watch.

Operating on the right as one of the ‘2’ in a 3-4-2-1 system, he progresses the ball better than most. He’s in the 94th percentile or higher for passes into the final third, passes into the penalty area and progressive passes, also clocking an average of 3.32 key passes which is a 99th percentile worthy number.

Given his qualities drifting out to the right, dropping deep and supporting the striker with runs beyond, his xA is another 99th percentile figure with his xG not lagging too far behind.

The lad has three lungs. He doesn’t gallop, he charges. Excelling in every shot creating action, his pressing from the front (a quintessential Atalanta trait) is unmatched and for recovering possession and winning aerial duels he’s also frighteningly effective.

A powerhouse of a forward, he brings goal threat and ball retention in abundance, which obviously means there is a catch, right?

In this case it would be his age (he’s just turned 28) and the difficulty there may be shoehorning him into a different system. The back three setup plays to his strengths as he needn’t be shackled with defensive duties. If Arsenal were Leicester-ish in their approach it may differ, but there would be issues there. Still, the numbers are scary.