After over a month of rumours and speculation, Arsenal ended the transfer window with a grand total of zero first team signings.
Mikel Arteta’s squad are still just about in the Premier League title race, are flying in the Champions League and have the slimmest of chances to overturn their two-goal deficit in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final against Newcastle United, but with no new addition to their thread-bare attack, the chance of any silverware feels distant.
Perhaps the disappointment stems from the fact that the North Londoners were linked to a plethora of tremendous attackers, from RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko to Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, only to end up with nothing.
At the same time, fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur secured the services of the incredibly exciting Mathys Tel, who was also linked with the Gunners, on a short-term loan with an option to buy at £45m.
However, while the Frenchman would have been a brilliant addition to the squad, Arteta already has a winger worth millions upon millions more who could still have a significant impact on the team’s fortunes.
Why Arsenal would have wanted Tel
So, while we now know that Tel ended up joining the white side of North London, why would Arsenal have considered signing him before that happened?
Well, you only have to look at his record from last season to see why, as in the relatively small amount of minutes he was given, he made quite an impact.
For example, in 41 appearances, totalling 1406 minutes, the 19-year-old phenomenon racked up a seriously impressive tally of ten goals and six assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.56 games, or every 87.87 minutes.
Appearances
41
Starts
10
Minutes
1406′
Goals
10
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.39
Minutes per Goal Involvement
87.87′
Moreover, on top of scoring and assisting goals for fun, the Sarcelles-born dynamo is positionally versatile, and while he can play across the front three, he excels off the left and down the middle.
However, he has not played much at all this season, and in the 14 appearances he has made, which amounts to 458 minutes, he’s provided just one assist, which points to him still being quite raw.
So, when you take that into account, it does make a little more sense why Arsenal were unwilling to take him at present when they need players who can make a guaranteed impact, especially when they should be getting one of their own superstars back next month who can do just that and is worth millions more.
The Arsenal star worth millions more than Tel
So, to get straight to the point, the Arsenal star we are talking about is, unsurprisingly, Bukayo Saka.
The Hale End graduate has developed into the club’s talisman over the last few years and, according to the CIES Football Observatory, is currently worth up to a staggering €157m, which is about £131m, or at least £86m more than Spurs may end up paying for Tel.
In even better news, he could be back on the pitch at some point next month.
Now, it’s often challenging to justify the extravagant valuations of players, but in this case, it’s really not, as over the last few seasons, the homegrown superstar has reached a level many argue is world-class.
For example, last season, the “incredible” winger, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 20 goals and provided 14 assists in just 47 appearances, totalling 3865 minutes, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every 1.38 games, or every 113.67 minutes across an entire campaign.
Somehow, prior to his injury, the 23-year-old monster was on track to do even better this season, racking up a sensational tally of nine goals and 13 assists in just 24 appearances, totalling 1828 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.09 games, or every 83.09 minutes.
When you add to that the fact he’s won back-to-back Player of the Year Awards for England while racking up a haul of 12 goals and seven assists in 43 games, it becomes hard to deny that he is more than worth his lofty valuation.
Appearances
250
43
Goals
67
12
Assists
63
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.52
0.44
Ultimately, Arsenal fans might be understandably annoyed at missing out on Tel to Spurs, but once Saka comes back into the side next month, the world will be watching the latter, not the former.
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