Back in June during the summer transfer window, Turkish outlet Fanatik reported that Arsenal were one of the clubs to have been credited with an interest in Club Brugge forward Emmanuel Dennis.
As per the report, the Gunners made a bid of £12million for Dennis, who was also chased by Lyon and Fenerbahce at that time, but nothing came to fruition and the Nigerian continued to ply his trade in Belgium.
Besides bringing in William Saliba and David Luiz to strengthen their porous backline, Arsenal went on to sign right-winger Nicolas Pepe for a club-record £72 million, while Dani Ceballos arrived as the other attacking recruit on loan from Real Madrid.
Saliba, of course, was loaned out to St. Etienne for the ongoing season as a part of the agreement and, while the likes of Luiz and Pepe have struggled to live up to the expectations in their respective positions, Unai Emery will be happy with the kind of endeavour that Ceballos has shown early in the campaign.
Arsenal have been nowhere near their sparkling best in the Premier League thus far but the Gunners have enjoyed a decent start, nevertheless, winning and drawing 3 of their first seven league fixtures.
They currently sit 4th in the standings but early signs suggest that Emery has a lot of thinking to do if the Gunners are to push on and secure Champions League football.
The backline has once again shown signs of creaking far too easily but the underwhelming displays of the defenders have been overshadowed to some extent by the scintillating goalscoring form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
While a new centre-back continues to be a priority for Emery in January, despite the presence of Luiz, Arsenal should also look to add a bit more depth to their attacking options up top in a bid to reduce the dependence on Aubameyang and Lacazette.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan left for Roma on loan in the summer, Alex Iwobi was sold to Everton and Danny Welbeck joined Watford on a free transfer but the Gunners didn’t really bring in too many replacements apart from Pepe, who has been a massive disappointment at the Emirates so far.
Agreed, Eddie Nketiah is showing signs of rapid progress on loan at Leeds United and fellow academy starlets like Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson are showing a lot of promise in the Premier League this term but bringing in another talented youngster would certainly increase competition for places.
To that end, Arsenal should consider reigniting their interest in Emmanuel Dennis, especially after his latest heroics in the UEFA Champions League against continental giants Real Madrid.
The 21-year-old Nigerian international bagged a brace to help Club Brugge secure a 2-2 draw against th Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu on Matchday 2.
Playing in a front three alongside Brighton loanee Percy Tau and Senegalese prodigy Krepin Diatta, Dennis caused all sorts of problems for the Madrid backline with his lightning pace, constant pressing off the ball and explosive game.
The first goal was a miskick but he deserves credit for timing his run to perfection, while the second goal was a truly thumping finish past Thibaut Courtois.
Dennis was the standout performer on the night, as Club Brugge pulled off one of the biggest surprises of Matchday 2 to earn a positive result against Real Madrid away from home.
The 21-year-old took his goal tally to 5 in 12 games across all competitions for the season and his heroics against a top-quality side on arguably the biggest stage in Europe reminded one and all as to why Arsenal were interested in signing him this summer. ‘
The Nigerian international is still in the developmental stage of his career and a move to a bigger club is not beyond the realms of possibility if he continues to deliver the goods in front of goal. Dennis is a really talented player with vast potential and his brace against Real Madrid would certainly have enhanced his stocks.
Suffice to say, Arsenal should start exploring the possibility of going back in the market for his services in January or next summer in a bid to add more firepower to their forward line.
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