The idea of Arsenal signing Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez, two players rated as some of the best young talents on the planet, is no longer a farfetched idea. Mikel Arteta has proven what a successful environment Arsenal can be for young talent to grow.
Arsenal sit in the driving seat for the fourth spot with the youngest side in the table. The likes of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have risen to the top of the club’s sizeable wanted list according to the latest reports. football.london understands that Arsenal are tracking Nunez ahead of a potential summer move.
Meanwhile, Dutch outlet Voetbal International have claimed that the Gunners lead the race for PSV star Gakpo who has more than 30 goal contributions in all competitions this season at the age of 22. The likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Liverpool are also chasing the forward who, according to The Athletic will move for a fee between €35m and €50m.
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However, there is an issue that amongst the hype and excitement must be discussed. Adding Gakpo and Nunez during the same summer as Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe could move on would see the average age of the group fall even further.
The 30-year-old Frenchman sees his deal expire at the end of the season whilst Pepe, who turns 27 in May, has seen his game time-limited and has not closed the door to a summer departure. Should Arsenal qualify for the Champions League, only two of their starting eleven, Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey would be over 25 years of age.
Both have experience of playing in the elite European competition but there is a stark imbalance of youth compared to experience. However, there is a question as to whether this remains an important factor?
Players such as Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale have plenty of experience at the senior level despite being 23 years young. Ben White has now become part of the England national side along with Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe.
Gabriel Magalhaes was recently called up to the Brazilian national side with Gabriel Martinelli. Arsenal’s young guns are gaining more and more experience with every game.
That said, seeing the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool succeed with a plethora of some of the league's most well-travelled and decorated stars is no coincidence. Gakpo and Nunez would be excellent signings for the club, but Mikel Arteta needs to address the risk of imbalance.
It might be that Lacazette is offered a new deal to allow another season or two to pass with this group. The striker is the current club captain and has proven to be an integral figure in the dressing room.
Yet Nunez’s potential arrival would surely severely limit Alexandre Lacazette’s minutes. Whether he would accept less game time over a move elsewhere in which he could find game time easier to come by is unknown.
But the balance needs to be found by Arteta to mitigate the risk of dealing with so many competitions with such a group. Perhaps navigating the free transfer market could help - like how Barcelona have succeeded so well with recently.
However the club accomplishes it, bringing in high calibre players must be the priority. To take Arsenal back to their title-challenging best, the club cannot afford to make mistakes in the market again.
