Naby Keita has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal this summer with the club scouting the player during the season.

His manager thinks he will stay at RB Leipzig ‘for life’ but that seems to be wishful thinking and we already know that Wenger got in touch last summer.

So who is he, and why would Arsenal want him?

Naby Keita is 22-year-old Guinean central midfielder for RB Leipzig.

His first European club was French FC Istres where he arrived in 2013 from Horoya AC. After an impressive first season, RB Salzburg noticed him and where he spent successful two seasons after a £1.28m move.

In the summer of 2016 he joined RB Leipzig for £12.75m million and is playing some of his finest football yet.

Keita’s current contract runs until 2020, and according to tranfermarkt.com he’s valued at €22 million.

His playing style could be compared to N’Golo Kante. With similar height, position and work rate, they both excel as hard working defensive midfielders that terrorise the opposition with their pressure and tackling. The only difference between the two is that Kante is more defensively-oriented than Keita and doesn’t provide as many offensive possibilities for Chelsea as does Keita for Leipzig.

Strengths

Keita is mostly used as a defensive midfielder but it’s as a central midfielder where he’s able to show his full potential.

His presence is felt around whole pitch as he displays great stamina and work rate. His ability to put players under pressure and cover behind forward players is outstanding.

With the ball at his feet he stays calm and isn’t afraid to dribble his way out of tight situations, often using one-twos with other players to open up spaces between the lines.

On average he makes 2.8 dribbles and 45 passes with 80.6% accuracy per game.

The 22-year-old also has great vision to send balls forward and give his teammates chances. Keita is also a threat to oppositions goalkeeper constantly.

This season he’s set up eight goals, and scored eight with average stats per one game of 1.4 shots on goal and 1.4 key passes.

His defensive work is also quite impressive. With an average of 2.3 tackles and 2.5 interceptions, he often saves his defensive line from opponent’s pressure.

Weakness

At 22, he’s still a young player and needs to work on his game.

Although he tackles a lot, he doesn’t seem convincing enough when making them, often having to put in extra work to take the ball away.

Another weakness of his, and a big one, is his aerial ability.

At 5’6″, he is a short player, but still has enough height to pose some aerial threat. Unfortunately, Keita is incapable of winning aerial duels regularly. He’s won just 25% this season.

His finishing could also to a bit of fine tuning. The Guinean is the type of player that is all over the pitch, and more often than not he finds himself in dangerous positions but often doesn’t use those positions to score.

One to keep an eye on

Naby Keita is slowly making his way to a top European club.

If he improves those fine details in his game and stays level headed, in a few years time he will surely be playing for one of the European heavyweights, maybe even after this summer’s transfer window.

The likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, PSG, Liverpool, in addition to Arsenal, are already keeping a close eye on him and a move away from RB Leipzig is slowly becoming inevitable.

With him, Arsenal would surely add another dimension to their game, with many Gooners still remembering last summer and Arsene Wenger missing out on N’Golo Kante.

In Keita, Arsenal would get a similar type of player, but with much more sense for going forward and opening spaces between oppositions lines.

Not to mention that Keita is four years younger than Kante and there is still much progress for him to make.