Mikel Arteta's high-flying Arsenal outfit go into their Sunday clash with visiting Leicester City at the Emirates as they look to take one step closer to a return to the Champions League promised land, but the future of Arteta's young guns has once again been put into the spotlight as the summer transfer window edges closer.
As reported in Football.London, Arsenal are tracking Villarreal's highly-rated 19-year-old Spanish international starlet Yéremy Pino.
A native of Las Palmas, Pino has come into his own this season despite his age and had found the back of the net on six occasions this season for Unai Emery's El Submarino Amarillo in La Liga this season while adding four assists in the process.
Pino also featured regularly in both the Champions League and the Europa League this season while making a combined 34-appearances across all competitions at the time of writing. But if the Gunners would potentially make a move for the youngster, it could set them back £67million given his current release clause at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
How is he viewed at Villarreal? Villarreal's Under-23s assistant coach Nando Martinez had nothing but bright things to say about the youngster.
"Yéremy stands out for his character. The more difficult the challenge, the more able he is to demonstrate his potential. He maintains the essence of when he played on the street as a child. In addition, he lives for football, and every day ensures he has the right complementary training, nutrition, and rest. Yéremy has been, and is, a blessing for his coaches."
How could Arsenal lineup with Yéremy Pino?
Though Yéremy Pino is typically deployed on the right flank, that role is clearly nailed down by Hale End graduate and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka and is unquestionably a key asset for Mikel Arteta.
But Pino has featured regularly in a centre-forward role this season under Unai Emery according to Football.London, and though his capture would cost a pretty penny, it could be an outside of the box option as Arsenal look to secure a long-term centre-forward given the fact that Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are all but set to depart in the summer after former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang swapped north London for Catalunya when he moved to Barcelona during the January window.
The Spanish international is also capable on the defensive side of the ball, a notion that was also mentioned in the report by FL when revealing some of his key defensive stats this season, averaging 2.31 blocks, 1.63 tackles, and 1.19 interceptions while having a work rate that was compared to Brazilian ace Gabriel Martinelli.
So how could Arsenal look with him in the team? A wonderkid's dream.
