Why signing Youri Tielemans is an opportunity Arsenal can’t miss

Youri Tielemans will leave Leicester City this summer, meaning one of the most technically proficient midfielders in the Premier League will be available on a free transfer. It’s an opportunity Arsenal can’t miss.

Putting a contract in front of Tielemans should be near the top of manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu’s to-do list. Signing Tielemans would add another natural playmaker to a midfield overly reliant on Martin Odegaard for style and ingenuity.

Stopping Odegaard means stopping Arsenal, a problem Arteta still hasn’t solved. One reason the issue has festered is a lack of game time for Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira.

There’s a trust issue with ESR, according to Arseblog columnist Tim Stillman:

"“Arteta’s public pronouncements have become progressively testier over time, when quizzed on the lack of game time for Smith Rowe last month, Arteta answered, ‘In football, it’s not about what you’ve done a year or a month ago, it’s about what you do now, what you did yesterday and what you’re going to do tomorrow. The player has to have that mindset and the contribution has to be now to the team to make us better and win games.”"

It’s a mite ungrateful for Arteta not to have full faith in Smith Rowe. The latter saved the manager’s bacon during the 2020/21 season when Smith Rowe’s long overdue inclusion in the starting XI sparked a big win over Chelsea on Boxing Day.

Yet, Vieira has been Arteta’s choice this season, even though the former Porto playmaker has struggled to live up to his £34m price tag. The 22-year-old hasn’t shied away from the physical nature of the Premier League, but he’s yet to fully adapt to its rough and tumble.

Tielemans would need no such adaptation period, despite a disappointing campaign with the Foxes.

Youri Tielemans is perfect for Arsenal

Tielemans’ desire to leave relegation-threatened Leicester was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, who referenced “multiple proposals” before the Belgium international.

One of those proposals needs to be from Arsenal because Tielemans’ touch and vision are perfect for Arteta’s style of play. Restoring some of the artful swagger common among Arsene Wenger’s teams is the best thing Arteta has done during his time in charge, but it’s only been possible because of a player like Odegaard.

You can’t play Champagne football without a few Champagne players, and Tielemans qualifies. His eye for a pass has produced more than one moment of magic for Leicester, like when he threaded this pre-assist against Wolves in 2022.

If no-look assists are your thing, try this one to tee up Kelechi Iheanacho against Brighton in ’21.

Through passes aren’t the only measure of a playmaker, and 26-year-old Tielemans has been sluggish for club and country at times the last two seasons. Yet, Arsenal don’t have enough midfielders who can pass like him. Or at least Arteta isn’t using those who can.

It’s about forming a creative collective, a deep group of conductors capable of keeping the Gunners on the front foot if Arteta rotates the squad. Take Manchester City as the prime example.

Kevin De Bruyne is City’s creative fulcrum as long as he has a pulse, but he’s not alone. At different times Ilkay Gundogan shares the load, while at others Bernado Silva picks up the slack.

Putting Tielemans alongside Odegaard and Vieira would give Arsenal better creative options. Doing so for free would also leave Arteta and Edu with enough money to reinforce the base of midfield.