Why Arsenal should sign Bayern Munich wonderkid Angelo Stiller

According to a report from German outlet Sport Bild (h/t The Sun), Arsenal are interested in signing Bayern Munich’s teenage midfielder Angelo Stiller in the summer transfer window.

The 19-year-old started out at the academy of TSV Milbertshofen before joining the Bayern Munich academy in 2010. Stiller rose through the youth ranks rapidly and broke into the Munich U19 team in 2018 and has been a part of the Bayern Munich II side in the German third division this season.

In 2019/20, Stiller has featured 24 times for the U-19 and the reserve teams combined, scoring 3 goals and assisting 10.

Arsenal’s season so far…

Meanwhile, Arsenal have had a difficult 2019/20 campaign. The Gunners began in a poor fashion under Unai Emery, which eventually led to his sacking towards the end of 2019. Mikel Arteta took over the reins at the club and has made some improvements to the team already.

However, they still find themselves in 9th position in the Premier League table, staring at the possibility of missing out on Champions League football once again next season.

It goes without saying that Arteta should reinforce his squad heading into the upcoming campaign, especially the defensive side of things. The backline has underperformed once again for the Gunners, leaking as many as 36 goals in 29 league matches.

Along with the backline, the defensive midfield position is another area where Arteta should look for reinforcements. Former captain Granit Xhaka has shown improvements under the new boss but remains inconsistent at best.

Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi have also been unable to stamp their authority in the middle of the park. Moreover, with the former being linked with AC Milan once again, the Gunners should look to strengthen the defensive midfield department once the transfer window opens.

In that regard, young Stiller would be a viable option for the club. The 19-year-old has impressed during his youth career at Bayern.

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Arteta, in his short time at Arsenal, has shown that he will back young players, as seen from the increased game time for the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka among others. And hence, adding Stiller to the ranks would aid his development faster, with him likely to get more first-team opportunities under the Spaniard at Arsenal than he would at Bayern.

Verdict

Arsenal need to make additions to the defensive midfield department in order to address the lack of quality depth. To that end, signing a young talent like Stiller makes a lot of sense.

The 19-year-old has shown potential so far. And with Arteta’s backing of youth, the German would have the right atmosphere to grow into a key first-team member for Arsenal.