Arsene Wenger has reiterated how impressed he was with Alexander Golovin over the two legs against CSKA Moscow, as rumours continue to grow about an Arsenal move.
5What if he joins Arsenal
Golovin is one of the top talents in Russia and has a very bright future ahead of him.
His versatility and mature performances have given CSKA an extra edge to their game and the youngster seems to make everyone around him play better.
He’s still an unrefined diamond and will need to do plenty of work on the training pitch. He also needs a manager to define his position rather than shuffling him around the pitch.
Golovin is quite different to any of the current Arsenal midfielders as he tends to hold the ball for a long time and make forward runs a lot. His approach would likely change when/if he does join Arsenal.
Golovin was priced at €3m last summer but CSKA were asking at least €10m for the youngster. Transfermarkt now rate him at €9m. What his CSKA price is now is unclear.
A leap from the Russian to the English league certainly wouldn’t be an easy one, and the youngster could perhaps use a loan to a weaker side in Premier League or in the Championship in order to get the feel for football in the country.