Opinion : Why Arsenal should move for Nigerian winger as Plan B for Chelsea-bound Raphinha

The transfer window is called the 'silly season' for a reason, 'it is full of twists and turns'.

One such twist occurred when London giants Arsenal who seemingly were in the driving seat to sign Brazilian winger Raphinha from Leeds were unseated by London rivals Chelsea who bid higher and had their offer accepted.

By the looks of it, the Blues have now gone into personal terms negotiations with Raphinha's agents and hope to come to an agreement soon.

This means Arsenal will have to look elsewhere for their forward player signing which allnigeriasoccer.com suggests they take a look at Nigeria-eligible winger Micheal Olise.

Taking a look at Mikel Arteta's 4-3-3 Juego de Posicion set-up installed at Arsenal, Raphinha was being targeted to give Bukayo Saka rotation and competition on the right flank.

With the English winger being comfortable on the left flank, he and Raphinha could have been used together in the same line-up in an attacking onslaught.

Crystal Palace's Olise is a very similar player to Raphinha and Saka profile-wise with only his physical development being a little bit behind. He is highly technical, good in 1 v 1 situations and is highly creative from the flanks.

Olise is also highly versatile and can play anywhere across the frontline behind the main striker. This is a trait Mikel Arteta has always looked for in his signings, flexibility.

Olise ticks many boxes for Arsenal. He is 20 years old with a lot of time to develop into a world-class player. He also has a 35 million pounds release clause which is still being negotiated to be increased as contract talks go on.

His profile is an incredibly rare one which is why Chelsea is prepared to pay north of 60 million pounds for Raphinha.

This is a good deal financially and Arsenal would reap from the youngster as he matures under Arteta's guidance.

Mayowa Sofoluwe

Photo Credit : cpfc.co.uk

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