A key feature of Arsenal‘s recent resurgence has been the astute dealings of sporting director Edu in the transfer market, with the Brazilian having seemingly endured another impressive month of business in January to secure the experienced duo of Jorginho and Leandro Trossard from Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion, respectively.
The signing of the latter man, in particular, already appears to be something of a masterstroke, with the £27m dynamo having netted his first goal for the club in the draw at home to Brentford on Saturday.
Despite having only just wrapped up such deals, however, the Gunners will already be looking ahead to the summer transfer window in order to further strengthen Mikel Arteta’s squad, with work still to be done to ensure that the north London outfit can compete year in, year out.
It does appear that Edu and are co are hoping to build for the long-term rather than merely chasing immediate success, however, amid reports that the title hopefuls are eyeing a deal for Atletico Paranaense teenager, Vitor Roque.
Should Arsenal sign Vitor Roque?
YES!
NO!
What’s the latest on Vitor Roque to Arsenal?
According to GOAL, the Premier League high-flyers are said to be one of the clubs who are interested in signing the 17-year-old starlet, having seemingly already made an approach in the hope of winning the race for his signature.
The suggestion is that with the forward set to turn 18 next month, the youngster would be able to make the move to Europe at the end of the season, albeit with La Liga giants Barcelona said to be the frontrunners at present in that pursuit.
Should Arsenal try and tempt Roque – who has a release clause of around €60m (£53m) in his existing deal – to England ahead of next season, they could well present the emerging ace with the success of story of fellow Brazilian, Gabriel Martinelli, with the latter man having blossomed since making the move from his homeland to the Emirates back in 2019.
Could Roque be Arsenal’s next Gabriel Martinelli?
Having arrived at the age of only 18 on a £6m deal from lower-league side Ituano, the 21-year-old has since gone to sparkle under Arteta in recent times, shaking off prior injury woes to emerge as a consistent presence so far this season.
The senior Brazil international boasts a respectable tally of seven goals and two assists in 20 top-flight games this term, having only recently been lauded by Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy for his “relentless” form alongside teammate Bukayo Saka.
It would appear that young Roque – who has been described as a player of “crazy potential” by talent scout Jacek Kulig – could well be able to emulate Martinelli were he to make the switch in the near future, as the 5 foot 8 gem possesses a number of similar traits to his compatriot.
The dynamic forward is also a potent attacking threat having scored seven goals and provided three assists in just 36 games for his current side, after previously scoring six times in only 16 appearances for former employers, Cruzeiro.
That form has also been translated onto the international stage as the teen sensation only recently scored six times in just seven appearances for Brazil at the U-20 South American Championship.
Equally, much like Martinelli – who averages 1.99 successful take-ons per game – Roque is also clearly a real direct threat with the ball at his feet, as he averages only slightly lower for that same metric at 1.07.
Those shared attributes – which ensure that both men can feature all across the frontline – do appear to indicate that Edu could be able to land Arsenal’s next Martinelli with the signing of the highly-coveted wonderkid.