Whether Arsenal get their hands on a marquee striker this summer remains to be seen, but what is sure is that the Gunners aren't just going to be sitting around twiddling their thumbs over the next few months.
Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have a big task on their hands: bringing in the right players to help the North Londoners take that final step and overtake Manchester City in the Premier League.
What better place to scout said players than the European Championships?
So, it's unsurprising that one of the latest names touted for a move to N5 could be a star at the tournament, and interestingly, he shares a lot of similarities with club captain Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a report from Caught Offside earlier this week, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in Paris Saint-Germain's young star Xavi Simons and have already contacted the French side to learn more.
Alongside the Gunners, the report claimed that Manchester United, Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus have also made contact with the Parisians over the young player, valued at around €60m – £51m – per Spanish reports last month.
However, unlike United, for example, the North Londoners have inquired about taking the 21-year-old on a season-long loan, which makes sense considering L'Équipe's report last week that Luis Enrique's side weren't keen to sell him this summer due to a clause that would see them pay a large portion of the fee to PSV.
It looks set to be an intense battle between multiple clubs to land the Dutchman's services this summer, but given his incredible form and similarities to Odegaard, Edu and Co must do what they can to emerge victorious.
Simons' similarities to Odegaard
Now, as impressive as Simons has been over the last couple of seasons, he has yet to prove himself at a major club or in a senior leadership role, so to compare him to Odegaard, a captain at club and international level, is a lot, but there are a few reasons why it makes sense.
The first is that, despite his age, the Dutchman has been on the radar of major football clubs for years at this point and was courting attention as the next big thing when he was a child in Barcelona's La Masia, which led to his move to PSG at just 16 years old.
This scenario is remarkably similar to the Norwegian's journey, as he emerged as the next wonderkid in his home country before securing a much-publicised move to Real Madrid in 2015, also at just 16 years old.
Moreover, like the Gunners' ace, the Amsterdam-born "superstar", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, then had to leave the super club he signed in order to play, and now it looks like he could join the North Londoners on an initial loan deal to get even more game time, which is exactly what happened with the Drammen-born star in January 2021.
The final similarity is that the pair are both positionally versatile.
The Gunners' mercurial captain may start the vast majority of his games in attacking midfield nowadays, but he's started 82 games as a right-winger in his career, 49 games in central midfield, 13 games on the left wing, and eight on the right of midfield.
Likewise, the 21-year-old, whom Mattinson claims is "destined for greatness", has started 43 games on the left wing, 28 on the right, 26 in attacking midfield, ten as a centre-forward, and five in central midfield, which also suggests that Arteta would have no trouble fitting the exceptional talent into a team alongside the Norwegian.
Left Wing
43
Attacking Midfield
200
Right Wing
28
Right Wing
82
Attacking Midfield
26
Central Midfield
49
Centre-Forward
10
Left Wing
13
Central Midfield
5
Right Midfield
8
Ultimately, while there is plenty of competition to land Simons' signature this summer, his impressive form for Leipzig last season – where he racked up 25 goals and assists in 43 games – and his similarities to Odegaard make him a player worth fighting for.
Who knows, Edu and Co may be able to turn his loan move into a permanent one like they did with the former Real ace.
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