Arsenal Opinion: Gunners would be better off dropping their interest in Antony this summer
According to The Sun, Arsenal are keeping close tabs on Brazilian winger Antony, who currently plies his trade in the Brazilian top flight with Sao Paulo.
The Sun understands that Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Lyon and Monaco are all vying for the signature of the 19-year-old £21 million-rated winger, with Premier League giants sending their scouts to Brazil to watch the teenager in action.
The same source claims that Arsenal manager Unai Emery is desperate to add a new winger to his ranks in the summer transfer window and the Spaniard has set his sights on the Brazilian in a bid to bolster his ranks.
A product of Sao Paulo’s youth system, Antony signed his first professional contract with the club in September last year and broke into the first-team towards the end of the previous campaign, making 3 substitute appearances in the league.
The 19-year-old has featured more regularly for the club this time around, starting on 4 occasions since the end of May. Antony has contributed with 2 assists from 4 appearances this season, although he is yet to net his first senior goal for the club.
The Brazilian prodigy has featured predominantly on the right-hand side of Sao Paulo’s attack, owing to his left-footed nature. Just like most of the teenagers coming through the youth ranks in Brazil, Antony has a wonderful technique for a player of his age and has already earned rave reviews for his silky dribbling skills.
His low centre-of-gravity allows him to keep exceptional close control and run with the ball glued to his feet, which helps him create his own space down the wide areas.
The jet-heeled, fleet-footed winger has also caught the eye with his slick passing and ability to create chances with incisive through balls in the final third. Antony boasts of a pass success rate of 82.4, including 1.3 key passes per game, figures which are a clear testament to his playmaking abilities.
To put things into perspective, Antony has shown strong signs of promise very early in his senior professional career, although he has made only 8 appearances for Sao Paulo’s first team and is yet to score his first goal.
He looks like a real talent at the moment but Arsenal should probably scout him extensively over the course of his first full season at the senior level, given that they would need to fork out a fee of £21 million to sign the winger.
However, even if a move to the Premier League does materialize for Antony this summer, it would be hard for the teenager to get a taste of first-team football at the Emirates.
Antony would probably go into the youth ranks at Arsenal where it will be up to him to prove his worth and break into the senior side.
Also, Arsenal should know that Antony hasn’t represented Brazil at any youth level or at the senior level, meaning that securing a work permit for the youngster in England will be a major issue.
Indeed, the Gunners need to add talented players to their youth ranks to increase competition but they have more important things to take care of this summer.
Unai Emery is likely to have to work under serious financial constraints this summer and the transfer budget at his disposal might get even lower after narrowly missing out on a top-four finish in the Premier League.
The Spaniard needs to bring in reinforcements at centre-back, left-back, right-wing and attacking midfield to build a formidable squad but he cannot afford to cover all the bases if he doesn’t have the necessary funds in the transfer window.
To Read More Arsenal News, Click Here:- Latest Arsenal News
Taking the current financial situation at Arsenal into consideration, the Gunners should forget about splashing such a massive amount on Antony and focus more on bargain deals for players, who would make an immediate impact.
