Why Arsenal should keep their eyes off talented starlet Louie Sibley
According to Derbyshire Live, Arsenal have been tipped by Football.London journalists to consider a summer swoop for Derby County starlet Louie Sibley, who enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign in the Championship last season.
The Gunners boss is hunting for some top-quality talent outside the Premier League and the London-based source has also suggested that the Spaniard could look at QPR’s Eberechi Eze and Brentford duo Said Benrahma and Josh Dasilva.
As per the source, Sibley has ball-carrying ability and is proficient in creating chances in the final third.
Profile
Born in Birmingham, Louie Sibley rose through the youth ranks of Derby County and was named the 2017-18 academy Player of the Season before making his first-team debut in the EFL Cup last term.
The 18-year-old marked his first Championship start for the Rams with an absolute stunner in a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers and followed it up with a hat-trick in Derby’s 3-2 win against Millwall after the restart in June.
Essentially a central attacking midfielder by trade, Sibley finished the 2019-20 campaign with an impressive tally of 5 goals and 2 assists in 11 league appearances (9 starts), earning recognition as one of the breakthrough stars in the English second-tier last season.
Do Arsenal really need him?
Make no mistake, Sibley absolutely nailed it in the Championship for Derby County this term, considering that it was just his first season in senior competitive football. The 18-year-old looks destined for glory in the years to come but the question is if he is ready to make the step up to the Premier League at this stage of his career.
Well, we have serious doubts over that, despite all his promise and potential. Indeed, Arsenal can certainly sign him and then loan him out to a Championship club to let him further his development. But it’s worth noting that the Gunners already have several top-quality homegrown talents trying to make their mark in the senior set-up.
In Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal have a serious talent on their hands. He has already played a bit-part role in the first-team and looks more than ready to feature prominently next season. He impressed on loan at Huddersfield Town in the Championship this season.
Add to that the likes of Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah and it’s easy to see that Arsenal’s squad is currently littered with plenty of up and coming young attacking talent.
Verdict
With that in mind, a potential move to the Emirates for Louie Sibley could well prove to be a complete waste given that the 18-year-old would find it really difficult to establish himself amidst such stiff competition for places.
Arsenal need some immediate game-changers to bring the best out of the youngsters that they have already got and they need to find a way to improve on their 8th-place finish in the Premier League last season.
Sibley could be a good future investment but that shouldn’t be an immediate priority for the Gunners, who already have top young players like Smith Rowe in the attacking midfield role.
