Gent forward Jonathan David has once again outlined his desire to take his career to the next level by leaving the Belgian club.
Before football was halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March, the 20-year-old had scored 18 goals and made seven assists in the Belgian Jupiler League while also netting three in the Europa League in 2019/20.
As reported by football.london in February , Arsenal's scouting network have been aware of David's ability, but he has also been linked to a move to RB Leipzig. The striker has made it clear that his next move must be to a club where he knows he'll get the chances to continue developing, and he believes the place most suited to that could be Germany.
"I never knew big clubs would be interested in me so early. It's overwhelming, but I think I can make the next step," he told Sky Sports.
"It's time for me to move and go somewhere where I can keep developing and get to the potential that I have. The league that would suit me the most right now is the Bundesliga.
"It's similar to the Belgian league in terms of the tempo and the physicality, but obviously the quality is higher in Germany and there is more competition."
The first league to return to action after the enforced break, the Bundesliga has continued to live up to its reputation of nurturing young talent better than most leagues.
In the first week of its return, Eling Haaland netted his 13th goal since joining Dortmund in January, whereas Kai Havertz bagged a brace against Werder Bremen to bring his tally up to 12 goals for the 2019/20 season.
Although David may view the Bundesliga as the best place for him to develop now, he has previously expressed his aspirations for playing in the Premier League one day.
"I just need to take a good step where I can make sure I am getting enough time on the pitch to keep developing. I don’t want to go somewhere and just stay on the bench so it’s about taking the right step," he said in April.
"I want to become one of the best strikers in the world. That’s my goal. The Premier League is the best in the world and most competitive so obviously that is somewhere I would love to play in the future."
Despite game time possibly being easier to come by in the Bundesliga, it has been woven into Arsenal's DNA to give youngsters chances in the first team, which hasn't stopped this season. At 18-years-old, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka stand as the prime example of this but Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock have all been trusted by Unai Emery, Freddie Ljungberg and Mikel Arteta alike.
