Why Arsenal would be wise to sign Antonio Zarzana
The Sun claim Arsenal are interested in Sevilla’s 17-year old midfielder Antonio Zarzana.
The Gunners’ interest was sparked by the youngster’s performances at the Algarve tournament with Spain’s U18s. The talented midfielder has indeed attracted interest from several big European clubs, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool among them. To fend off potential suitors, Sevilla even signed a professional contract with Zarzana (h/t The Sun).
Real Madrid have already failed in their attempt to sign Zarzana, who turned down a move to Zinedine Zidane’s side (h/t The Sun).
However, his dream of playing for Sevilla’s first-team looks a distant one, as the youngster doesn’t appear to be a part of head coach’s Paco Gallardo’s plans. This has made several top clubs sit up and take note, with the Gunners apparently in the front of the queue for Zarzana (h/t The Sun).
Right now, Zarzana is still a way off first-team football. In fact, the teenager is yet to start for Sevilla Atletico, the La Liga club’s reserve team. He did make his debut from the bench last May, aged 16.
Sevilla are also in great form at the moment. They’re third in the La Liga table only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Arsenal’s season so far has not been one to remember but there is rising optimism that improvements are right around the corner, as the club have appointed Mikel Arteta. The position went to Unai Emery after Arsene Wenger exited but the Frenchman’s departure last month left the Gunners on the hunt again. With plenty of issues to fix, Arteta should rejuvenate the squad by signing Zarzana.
With Lucas Torreira linked with a move away from the Emirates and uncertainty surrounding the futures of Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil, there could be holes to fill in the midfield and Zarzana has the potential to be a star in the future.
Zarazana has been putting on a show off late and has dominated games in the centre of the park. Also, summer signing Gabriel Martinelli has had a stunning start to his Arsenal career and other youngsters like Bukayo Saka and Joe Willock have performed admirably this season. This would be the right time for them to snap up Zarzana.
Verdict
Zarzana’s natural position is in attacking midfield, however, he also has the ability to turn out in a ball-playing central midfield role. He’s been capped by Spain at Under-18 level and if the Gunners can act fast, they may well have another exciting youngster on their books.
