It's been somewhat of a challenging campaign for Arsenal so far this season.
Instead of battling right at the top of the table like they have been in the last couple of years, Mikel Arteta's men currently find themselves a pretty distant third place in the Premier League.
One of the biggest challenges the North Londoners have faced this season has been creating chances from open play, although the return of club captain Martin Odegaard has somewhat alleviated that problem.
martin-odegaard-arsenal-premier-league
The Norwegian maestro is undoubtedly one of the club's most important players, so recent reports linking them to someone who could be the next Odegaard should excite fans.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal are intensely interested in Las Palmas gem Alberto Moleiro.
Moleiro-arsenal
In fact, the report claims that the youngster has already reached 'an agreement in principle' to join the Gunners in the summer transfer window.
While this groundwork is undeniably impressive from the North Londoners, they will still have to fork out a hefty fee to get their man, and according to the report, he has a release clause worth €60m in his current contract, which converts to around £50m.
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It might be a lot of money for a player who remains a relative unknown to fans of English football, but Moleiro looks to be incredibly talented and might just end up being Arsenal's next Odegaard.
Why Moleiro could be Arsenal's next Odegaard
So, let's get straight to the point then. Why could Moleiro be Arsenal's next Odegaard?
arsenal-Moleiro
Well, there are a few reasons, and the first is that, like the Norwegian superstar, the 21-year-old ace would be a young and exciting, offensively minded midfielder making his way from La Liga to the Premier League.
Granted, moving from the behemoth that is Real Madrid is not quite the same as moving from Las Palmas, but like the Spaniard, the Gunners' captain cut his teeth playing for a smaller Spanish side in Real Sociedad, where he too became a core component of a team before making the jump to English football.
The second similarity is that, like his potential future teammate, the "silky" prodigy, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is capable of playing in more than one position.
For example, across his short career to date, the "entertaining" Santa Cruz-born gem, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, has made 55 appearances at left-wing, 28 in attacking midfield, 23 at right-wing, 4 in central midfield and a handful in other positions.
Moleiro's positional versatility
Position
Left-Wing
Attacking Midfield
Right-Wing
Central Midfield
Striker
Left Midfield
Right Midfield
All Stats via Transfermarkt
In comparison, the North Londoners' incredible number eight has played in attacking and central midfield, off the left and right, and he's even made one appearance as a centre-forward.
Ultimately, away from the comparisons to Odegaard, Moleiro simply looks to be an incredibly promising young talent, as exemplified by the fact he's already racked up a haul of 24 goal involvements in 128 senior appearances for Las Palmas despite being just 21 years old.
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Therefore, while there is an element of risk in paying so much for a young, up-and-coming talent, this looks like a deal Arsenal should be doing all they can to get over the line before someone else swoops in.
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