Welcome to The Arsenal Way daily round-up where we take a look at some of the best Arsenal stories that you might have missed.
Paul Merson has spoken about Eddie Nketiah's potential after his wonderful hat-trick against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup
Ousmane Dembele and three other Barcelona stars could be used in a swap deal so Barcelona can sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Jack Wilshere has praised young Arsenal starlet Charlie Patino after he made his debut in the Carabao Cup against Sunderland.
Merson says Nketiah will be a star
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson is adamant that Eddie Nketiah will be a star and he can fulfill his potential with the Gunners.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Merson said: “Stick here for two, three more years. He’s a kid, he’s got plenty of years left, he’ll only get better and better. You weigh it up, you go somewhere else, you’ll probably get a bottom-half Premier League team working off scraps.
“I know he wants to play football, of course, he does. There’s not a lot of 20-year-old kids leading the line in the Premier League at the moment. And that’s the way I would look at it. This kid’s a good player, he should have faith in his ability that he will be a star for Arsenal.”
Nketiah’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and there has been a lot of speculation surrounding his future.
Our View : Nketiah has been quality in the Carabao Cup during his young Arsenal career, however, he is yet to show the true ability he possesses in the Premier League, which makes it difficult to judge how high his ceiling could be.
Dembele used in Aubameyang deal
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be used in a swap deal to sign Ousmane Dembele according to the Daily Express.
According to the report, Dembele is one of four Barcelona players alongside, Phillipe Coutinho, Neto and Samuel Umtiti that the Gunners could accept in a transfer for the striker.
The 32-year-old has been linked with the Catalan club after the forward was banished from Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad due to a breach in the disciplinary rules.
With 18-months left on Aubameyang’s contract, Arsenal could be looking to sell him in January to generate the maximum revenue for the striker, before his value drops.
Our View: Arsenal certainly need to offload Aubameyang at some stage, but a swap deal with one of the four players mentioned seems very uninspiring and receiving cash instead of one these players for the striker would certainly be the better option.
Jack Wilshere praises young Arsenal star
Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has sung the praises for Charlie Patino after his senior debut against Sunderland on Tuesday evening.
Wilshere posted on his Instagram story: “Hard work paying off, love it Charlie boy.”
Patino had an excellent substitute appearance against Sunderland, which also saw him grab his first goal.
The 18-year-old is tipped to be Arsenal’s next Hale End academy graduate to be a star with the first team and has even been compared to having the same ability as Wilshere when he was a youngster.
Our View: it is clear that Patino has star potential and his senior debut has given the footballing world a glimpse of what to expect in the future.
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