Over the past few months, Arsenal have been linked with Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister. Spanish outlet AS reported back in December that the Gunners had set their sights on the star, while Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have all been linked too. Journalist Paul Brown believes Mac Allister could be the perfect fit to take on the role of Leandro Trossard at the Emirates Stadium.
Trossard joined Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion in January for a reported £27million, however he has not been a regular starter, but has still made a big impact at N5. Brown, who worked with Mac Allister at Brighton, thinks his former teammate could do the same if he moved to the Gunners. He told GiveMeSport: “He’d be coming in in the same way that Trossard has, as another member of the squad who can come in at certain times to play but isn’t necessarily regarded as an automatic first-choice starter.”
Mac Allister has been in incredible form this season, both for Brighton in the Premier League and with Argentina, where he was named in Jack Wilshere’s World Cup team of the tournament. He has also been praised by Graeme Souness, who called him “absolutely exceptional” and better than Lionel Messi in the games he covered.
However, the biggest obstacle for Arsenal could be the transfer fee. 90Min reported that Brighton want at least £50million for the player. That’s a huge amount for a player who wouldn’t be an automatic starter in the Arsenal team, and it remains to be seen whether Mikel Arteta would be willing to fork out that much money on him.
Ultimately, if Mac Allister is to take on the role of Trossard at the Emirates Stadium, he needs to prove that he is worth the hefty transfer fee. He has certainly shown this season that he has the potential to be an important member of the squad, and if he can do that in the Premier League, then he could be a real asset to the Gunners.
