Mikel Arteta set to fix transfer mistake with £30m deal for summer transfer target alternative

Arsenal have been linked with a move to re-sign former player Yunus Musah, who is seen as an alternative for Jude Bellingham or Jamal Musiala.

Yunus Musah could be one of those Gunners stories. The attacking midfielder recently shone for the United States at the World Cup in Qatar, leaving many Arsenal fans wondering ‘what if’.

Musah spent seven years in the Arsenal youth system before leaving at the age of 16 to join Valencia in Spain. He explained why he left the Emirates Stadium ahead of the USA’s match against England in the World Cup group stages.

He then stated: “Maybe, we’ll never know, I felt at the time that I wasn’t able to break into the Arsenal first team so quickly. Their team was very good, and I felt that at my age, I could play first-team football, with the possibility of moving to Valencia. Everything worked out perfectly. That makes me very happy.”

Musah, on the other hand, has been linked with a return to north London. There were links in the January transfer window, and Musah is expected to attract interest again this summer.

Fabrizio Romano while speaking to Bookmark Ratings during the January transfer window: “Yunus Musah’s name appears on the list of Premier League clubs. Arsenal recently sent scouts to monitor him, but other Premier League giants are aware, and Inter Milan is also interested. Between January and June, he could leave Valencia.”

So Arsenal has been scouting their former star, now 20 years old and regarded as one of the world’s rising stars in his position. In fact, he has more first-team experience than almost any other player in his position.

Only three other attacking midfielders under the age of 21 have more top level experience based on playing time, competitive level of matches played, and results, according to data experts CIES Football Observatory. And all three would cost Arsenal significantly more to sign this summer.

The list is topped by highly sought-after Jude Bellingham, who is followed by Barcelona’s Gavi and Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala. All of them would command transfer fees in excess of £100 million.

Musah, on the other hand, is valued at around £30 million by CIES and would be a wise re-signing for the Gunners. Particularly given that he already has more experience than players like Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, both of whom are highly regarded by Liverpool.