Are Arsenal looking at the wrong Leicester midfielder?

Transfer business is returning to the fore given the events of the past week, as hopes of a top four finish for Arsenal are beginning to fizzle out.

Seeing how depleted the team becomes tactically when losing two key players, the mind has been allowed to wander back towards what other additions could be made in the summer to bolster this thin Gunners squad.

Losing to Brighton not only puts top four at serious risk, it also has Mikel Arteta’s men looking below them in the table at West Ham and Manchester United. On this current trajectory there are no certainties over a Europa League place either.

Midfield has to be reinforced regardless of what European competition Arsenal find themselves in next season. The addition of a new holding midfielder to account for Thomas Partey’s inevitable injuries is one area to look at, just as a new left-sided No. 8 to slot into the three man midfield is high on the agenda.

Are Arsenal looking at the wrong Leicester midfielder? Youri Tielemans is a transfer target by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall continues to shine

One of the names heavily linked with a move to north London is Youri Tielemans, who with just over 12 months left on his Leicester contract is a viable option in the summer for a fraction of his actual worth.

But Arsenal need someone to operate in that left half-space. Tielemans is right footed and excels on the other side of the holding midfielder, so while his overall profile, skillset, price and age all suit Arsenal, it’s the wrong position.

In that very same team is someone performing that very role to an increasingly impressive standard. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall not only has a name that sounds like a Period Drama series on the BBC, but he’s also got just over two years left to run on his deal.

All the noises are that a new contract is being readied for the Foxes’ 23-year-old academy graduate, yet with the way he’s been performing since breaking into the team around December time there will be plenty of clubs fishing around for his signature.

Slotting into this box-to-box role in Leicester’s 4-3-3, Dewsbury-Hall is someone who can carry the ball at length – a value commodity this Arsenal team needs in this position – and adds creativity in those spaces. While his season isn’t littered with goals and assists, he ranks 90th percentile for Shot-Creating Actions and likes to disrupt high up the pitch with a 93rd percentile ranking for final third pressures.

There is a real energy to his game, both in off the ball work-rate and speed of thought in possession, with him always showing for the ball even in tight spaces as demonstrated by the 4.15 progressive passes received p/90 (93rd percentile).

Not on Tielemans’ level yet, and also only a smidgen younger than him, there is still a lot to like about how conducts himself on the pitch even if he’s not by any means in the elite bracket.

Still with work to do on his passing and defensive positioning, with the trajectory of his performances in the Premier League and Europe it won’t be long before links emerge to interested parties tracking his progression.

He’s come on leaps and bounds this season already and with a new contract not signed just yet, his situation is one that might be worth at least looking into. Arsenal could be in need of more than one such midfielder, after all.