While reports circulate that Arsene Wenger is looking to recruit PSV Eindhoven star Hirving Lozano in an attempt to soften the blow left by the Alexis Sanchez transfer, one story is left untold.
Can this Mexican sensation really hit the dizzying heights Sanchez once displayed?
Lozano, who learnt his trade at Pachuca, has stunned the Dutch league with nine goals in his first eight taking his overall tally to 12 out of 18.
His inspiring form has caught Wenger’s attention who is rumoured to be willing to make the youngster, Mexico’s most expensive player of all time.
Compared to Sanchez’s six strikes in 21 appearances, the 22-year-old certainly looks more prolific on paper.
His potential is there to be seen but, how often do we see players who make the headlines over in Holland brave the flight over to England only to flop.
Manchester United spring to mind with Memphis Depay, he scored 39 goals in his three-year stay at PSV at the age of 21. However, during his 18 months at Old Trafford, he could only muster two in 16 first team starts under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal.
Vincent Janssen another player, at 22 he hit the Eredivisie by storm with 27 goals in 32 starts for AZ Alkmaar before moving to Tottenham Hotspur. Only to be sent out on loan to Fenerbahce 12 months later having scored six goals, four of which were penalties.
What happened to the Christian Eriksen’s, the Robin Van Persie’s and Arjen Robben’s that ventured across the channel all those years ago.
Lozano will join Arsenal with the odds on him becoming a success already stacked against him without having a chance to even kick a ball.
The Eredivisie does not boast the array of talents the Premier lay custom too nor does it feature the same competitiveness every week.
Whereas Lozano’s South American counterpart Sanchez has already shown he can hold his own in the Premier League with a return of 57 goals in his 118 Arsenal appearances, Lozano could be the risk worth taking.
With the Chilean’s departure, Wenger requires a man who is more than capable of leading the line on his own.
Does Lozano have the characteristics needed to do fill the gaping void Sanchez has left?
Well, he is at his most deadly when on the left of the attack and despite his age he has already scored seven times in his 24 caps for Mexico.
Then take his eight goals for Pachuca which led him to the Golden Boot as the competitions top scorer in the CONCACAF Champions league last term.
He reached all these feats at such a tender age and in the space of 12 months, he has really caught the attention of Europe’s top clubs.
The Mexico international may just have the credentials needed to break the trend of Eredivisie flops in the Premier League.
Although if Wenger is to branch away from his safe tendencies and take a gamble, the Frenchman will have more to lose than gain. However, the bigger the risk, the greater the award.
