Who is Desire Doue and should Arsenal make a move for him?

Arsenal have been linked with 19-year-old star, Desire Doue, but they are competing with PSG, Bayern Munich and Chelsea for his signature.

Bayern Munich have already had a first proposal worth over €35m rejected, and PSG are expected to make a bid soon. Evidently, based on how many admirers he has, he is a special talent and a player of his age and profile would be a great addition to Mikel Arteta's squad.

However, he is still quite inexperienced and there is still some work to be done on his all-round game. It is also important to consider the effects this could have on the squad and other transfer plans as well. So should Arsenal make a move this summer?

Who is Desire Doue?

Doue has been a part of the Rennes club system for his entire football career, having joined the youth academy at just five years old. The 2005-born talent made his breakthrough into first-team football in the 2022/23 season, and he has since been a key player in the team's squad.

A versatile forward, Doue has featured both in midfield and on either wing. Despite the advanced positions he can get into, Doue's final product has not been special, with just nine goals and eight assists in his 90 senior career appearances so far.

However, that isn't exactly what is game is about. Doue is a pure entertainer, boasting tricky footwork and outstanding athleticism. His unique ability to sniff out space on the pitch combined with his technical prowess and movement has forged a ball-carrying superpower. The Frenchman ranked inside the top two percent of midfielders in Europe's top five leagues for progressive carries in the 2022-23 season (3.4 per 90).

Why should Arsenal sign Doue this summer?

Arteta's Arsenal have always taken great pride in their structure as a team, both defensively and offensively. This is precisely how they have consistently been one of the best teams in the Premier League for the last two seasons. However, to take the step towards dominating on a European level, the squad would benefit from having some more game-breaking talents for when the structure is not enough.

Doue is the kind of game-breaking talent that can help a team solve tense situations by simply breaking the structure and organisation in the middle of the pitch. Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala and Phil Foden are great examples of other established midfielders that excel in carrying the ball with flair and confidence. At the moment, Arsenal don't have a reliable, first-team quality forward of this profile, so Doue would make a lot of sense here.

How does Doue fit into the squad?

As great as Doue is, it's worth noting that Emile Smith Rowe still plays for Arsenal too. The 23-year-old, although not as flashy as the Rennes youngster, is still very much capable of carrying the ball to a high level, and has a proven record of creating and scoring goals in the Premier League. He has the potential to be a game-breaking talent in this squad just like Doue could be. Of course, the glaring issue with this is Smith Rowe's fitness has been a serious problem the last couple of seasons. After all, what use is game-breaking talent that is also unreliable?

Smith Rowe could leave this summer and several clubs have been linked with him. In this case, Doue could become Arsenal's new versatile midfielder/winger, where he should be able to find regular minutes for his development. On the other hand, in the event that Smith Rowe stays at the club, and potentially even works back to his best form again, there would be no need to sign a player like Doue.

Ultimately a deal for Desire Doue depends entirely on the future of Emile Smith Rowe. The French star is already one of the best performing ball-carriers in Europe at 19-years-old, and he still has room to improve on his all-round game. It won't be an easy deal to complete considering the price and competition, but it would regardless be a top signing for the future, should Arsenal make space for it this summer.

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