Arsenal had scouts watching Andrija Zivkovic once again while O Jogo claim the club were also keeping an eye on Ruben Dias as Benfica defeated Vitória de Guimarães 2-0 this weekend.

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Zivkovic since February 2017 when they had scouts at a Benfica game and it was reported they were watching the winger. Since then, there have been numerous reports of Arsenal watching the youngster.

The links with Dias are much newer, only appearing or the first time with any seriousness in the middle of last month.

Back

1. Zivkovic

Zivkovic arrived from Partizan on a free transfer in 2016. He spent his youth years at the club where he made his senior debut at 16 and first captained the side aged just 17. He is also the youngest Serbian international footballer in history.

Zivkovic made 24 appearances last season for Benfica, scoring one goal and grabbing 11 assists in the process as he slowly made himself a regular first team player. This season he has three goals and five assists in 24 appearances.

The winger is very good with the ball at his feet and loves to be in possession, making runs down the flank and taking on his opponents with bursts of pace and dribbling.

He is left footed but plays mostly on the right wing, often cutting inside and positioning himself around the box. His right leg is also nicely developed and the player is comfortable using both feet if necessary. Zivkovic makes an average of 1.5 chances and 1.36 key passes per-game.

Crossing and set-pieces are his main weapons, as he has the ability to send in very precise long balls to the forwards and he even got a few of his assists that way.

Zivkovic is also very responsible with his defensive duties and keeps track of his player.

Zivkovic has the potential to make a great career for himself at any of the top European clubs and is considered to be one of the very best Serbian talents to have come from their youth ranks.

He is still very young and Arsene Wenger could mould him to fit the Arsenal squad however he wishes. With the lack of quality on the right wing at Arsenal, the player could become one of the main stars over the next few seasons.

Although he arrived at Benfica for free, reports claim the youngster has a release clause in his contract of £52.5m and Arsenal will need to get as much information about the player as possible before offering anything near that sum.

Read about Dias next…

Andrija Zivkovic
Andrija Zivkovic
Back