Reuters / Stefan Wermuth Livepic
Arsenal have incurred somewhat of a number nine curse over the years and are perhaps regretting not trusting in one of their former youngsters.
Since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's falling out with Mikel Arteta led to his exit in early 2022, the Gunners have lacked a proven goalscorer of the Gabonese frontman's quality. Kai Havertz has proven to be effective as a false nine but isn't bagging goals that put him in contention for the Golden Boot.
Neither is Viktor Gyokeres, who arrived at the Emirates in the summer of 2025 off the back of a sensational spell at Sporting CP. The Swede has failed to displace Havertz in Arteta's starting lineup and the club have since looked at signing the likes of Julian Alvarez and Victor Osimhen.
The North London outfit ended the 2026 summer transfer window without a new centre-forward acquisition despite clear issues. To make matters worse, one of their former youth prospects is having no issue finding the back of the net in Serie A.
Ex-Arsenal Youngster Donyell Malen is Serie A's Standout
REUTERS/Matteo Ciambelli
If you put the name Donyell Malen to your average football fan, they might not be able to recall his spell at Arsenal. The Dutch forward spent just two years with the Gunners after joining their youth system from PSV Eindhoven's U17's in July 2015.
After climbing through the Hale End youth ranks, he seemingly didn't do enough to convince the senior coaching staff of a first-team opportunity. He returned to PSV two years later without making a single appearance above U23 level.
Malen eventually secured senior football with the Eredivisie club before earning a move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021. Impressive displays at Signal Iduna Park convinced Unai Emery to bring him back to England when he joined Aston Villa in January 2025.
The 27-year-old encountered similar issues albeit in the first-team at Villa Park, unable to secure a regular starting berth under Emery. Despite managing a decent tally of 10 goals in 46 games, he headed out on loan to AS Roma just a year later before leaving permanently for the Italians this past summer.
Malen has become one of the most highly-rated attackers in Italy, perhaps European football altogether. He's become Gian Piero Gasperini's talisman and a red-hot start to the new Serie A campaign has him sitting top of the goalscoring charts with six goals in four games.
The Netherlands internatonal is only the second player in Roma's history to reach that tally in his side's opening four games. Francesco Totti, arguably their greatest ever player, achieved that feat back in the 2001-02 campaign.
Not only is Malen thriving in front of goal, but his overall performances have earned him a WhoScored rating of 8.0, the best number of any player in the Italian top-flight. He's also scored half of I Giallorossi's goals this season as they sit top of the table, above Inter Milan on goal difference with four wins in four games.
Malen Left Arsenal After 'Fat' Claim
Donyell Malen applauding the Aston Villa fans
Malen had followed in the footsteps of two footballing idols when he joined Arsenal's youth academy. He revealed in an interview with the club's website:
"When I found out Arsenal were interested in me I felt so proud and excited. Arsenal was a club that had always interested me for two main reasons - Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry."
Malen started out with the U18's, training under Henry and registering 11 goals and 21 games before stepping up to U21 and U23 level. Despite this, the North Londoners agreed to sell him back to PSV for a mere £540,000 in August 2017, but he made an astonishing claim about his reasons for wanting to leave:
The Dutchman recalled overhearing the club's head of youth development Andries Jonker making some unsavoury comments about his fitness:
"I heard him say that I came in too fat. That surprised me. They had already been working at Arsenal for two months when I arrived. Then of course you are not immediately at the same level."
Malen insisted: "I still had a contract for a year and Arsenal even wanted to extend that. I don't play football for the money. I never did that. Otherwise I would not have left England. There are stories that I was not fit when I came to Arsenal. But I have never been too fat, that really is a nonsense story."
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta watching on and Borussia Dortmund winger Donyell Malen in action
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta watching on and Borussia Dortmund winger Donyell Malen in action
A return to the Emirates has been speculated over the years since Malen left and succeeded elsewhere. Given Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard's exits, the Gunners may well have benefited from possessing the Dutch star who can operate up top and on the wing.