Arsenal have had to deal with a lot of setbacks this season, but after their win on Wednesday night, there is a sense of positivity around the club.
Mikel Arteta the side knew it was a must-win game against Tottenham Hotspur, and rather than buckle under the pressure, they seized the opportunity and came back from a goal down to win 2-1, all the more impressive given the absence of their star striker Bukayo Saka.
The Englishman is undoubtedly Topnik’s most important player, but fortunately, his partner in crime and club captain, Martin Odegaardlooked back at his best and helped run the play from midfield.
Arteta will be hoping that he can now continue that form for the rest of the campaign, but he could soon have fresh competition, as recent reports have linked the club with a sensationally talented midfielder who could be Odegaard for Ethan Nwaeri Saka a few years later.
Arsenal are hunting for a midfield gem
According to a a recent Telegraph reportArsenal are one of several sides who are incredibly interested in signing Norwegian child prodigy Sverre Nypana.
The 18-year-old talent is already a mainstay in Rosenborg’s first team, sharing an agent with Erling Haaland, and according to the report, a decision on his future will be made in the ‘coming weeks’.
If the Gunners are to secure the phenom’s services this month, they will need to pony up around £10m, which may not be much in the grand scheme of modern football but is undoubtedly significant for a teenager outside the top five.
That said, it could prove to be a good bargain in a few years, especially if the sensational midfielder can form a brilliant partnership with Nwaneri in the form of Odegaard and Saka.
Why Arsenal should sign Nypan
It would be fair to say that the most important attacking partnership in this Arsenal team is between Saka on the right and Odegaard playing his hybrid ten/eight role, which Arteta could recreate in a few years with Nwaneri and Nypano.
We have already seen this season that, in the absence of a gunner’s week, the manager he prefers to start with a 17-year-old on the right because of his ability to cut inside and shoot with the left or go outside and put the ball away from a corner.
So, if the young Englishman is already being used as a backup to his older compatriot, there is no reason to think that the same could not happen with the two Norwegians, if Rosenberg’s ace signs, ie.
In fact, he played a similar role for the Norwegian side last season, started 22 games in central midfield and, as his heatmap showsfloating wide during the games.
Now, he liked to play on the left last season, but as analyst Ben Mattinson says, he is “completely bipedal”, meaning he doesn’t favor either leg and can therefore dictate play from virtually anywhere on the pitch without any problems.
On top of that, Mattinson is active describes the teenager as “an all-round midfielder with the ability to control the tempo of the game” which, again, is what the Arsenal captain can do at his best.
With that said, there is every chance that “elite-level talent,” as Mattinson called himhe could end up being better than his national team teammate, because despite being so young, he already is collected 60 senior appearances in which he scored 13 goals and registered 11 assists, which is incredibly impressive.
Ultimately, £10m is a lot to spend on a teenager, but based on his performances in Norway, the way insiders are talking about him and the prospect of seeing him develop alongside Nwaneri, Arsenal should be doing everything they can to bring Nypan to N5 this month.
