Why Arsenal missed a trick in not signing Malcom on loan
According to The Sun, Arsenal were keen on bringing Brazilian winger Malcom on loan to the Emirates but the Gunners took a step back after Barcelona demanded a huge loan fee.
Barcelona signed Malcom from Bordeaux for £36.5 million but the Brazilian hasn’t had the game time he would’ve preferred. With just 1 start in all competitions, Malcom could’ve been open to a loan move away from Spain. With both Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele ahead of him in the pecking order, North London duo Arsenal and Spurs wanted him.
Malcom began his career with Corinthians and was part of the Campeonato title-winning side of 2015 before moving to France in January 2016. He spent three seasons with Bordeaux, scoring 23 goals in 96 appearances, and is yet to represent Brazil at senior level. The 21-year-old came to spotlight in the 2017/18 campaign where the former Corinthians man netted on 12 occasions while also assisting 7 times.
AS Roma agreed on a fee with Bordeaux in the region of €40million and also finalised personal terms. Barcelona came in with a late offer for the Brazilian and Malcom signed a five-year deal with the Catalan giants. (Guardian)
Arsenal are only left with Alex Iwobi as their natural winger and the Gunners lack width on the right-hand side. Aubameyang, Ozil and Ramsey have done a job for Unai Emery but all three tend to drift inside a lot and don’t offer much width to the team.
With long term injuries to Mkhitaryan and Welbeck, Arsenal were forced to dive into the market and Unai Emery will regret missing out on Malcom at the end of the season.
Malcom averaged 2.5 key passes per game and 2.7 dribbles per game in his breakthrough season in the Ligue 1. Quick on the counter, good linkup play around the box, brilliant dribbling and the ability to score from outside the box makes Malcom an exciting prospect and a front three of the Brazilian, Lacazette and Aubameyang would’ve made Arsenal’s attack a fearsome one.
Although Arsenal failed to sign Malcom, the Gunners managed to pull off a deal to bring the Brazilian’s Barcelona teammate, Denis Suarez, to the club for £2million loan deal which could potentially turn into an £18m permanent switch at the end of the season.
Although Suarez is primarily a central midfielder, the Spaniard has played on the flank before, notably under Unai Emery at Sevilla, and the Arsenal boss will hope his new recruit solves his team’s problems on the wing.
