Why Daniel Podence would be a fantastic signing for Arsenal

Back in October, Greek outlet Sportime (h/t The Express) had claimed that Arsenal scouted Olympiakos star Daniel Podence during his side’s game against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League.

Daniel Podence, 24, was key to his team’s incredible comeback against Tottenham, despite being two goals down after Harry Kane’s penalty and Lucas Moura’s spectacular shot.

The Portuguese winger also had a fantastic game for Olympiakos in the return leg against Tottenham, helping the Greek giants take a shock 2-0 lead within 40 minutes.

A mistake from Yassine Meriah at the stroke of half time, however, saw Dele Alli half the deficit. After the interval, Spurs scored three times to win the game 4-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Podence chose to leave Sporting in 2018 as he terminated his contract with the club, eventually heading to Olympiacos as his next move. He had a solid debut season in Greece and has hit the ground running in 2019/20 with a series of impressive displays, especially in the Champions League.

With the 5ft 4in winger continuing to impress, Arsenal would be wise to rekindle their interest in him.

Arsenal have endured an indifferent start to the Premier League season but the club decided to part ways with Unai Emery recently.

The Gunners are in a dismal run of form, despite spending a lot of money in the summer to strengthen the squad.

One of the flops of the season has been Nicolas Pepe, who was signed on a club-record £72million deal from Lille in the summer.

Pepe has struggled to live up to his high billing at the Emirates Stadium, managing just a goal and two assists in 12 league games so far.

While Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexander Lacazette have continued scoring goals this season, failure to deliver the goods from Pepe and other attackers have affected Arsenal’s productivity going forward.

Thus, the North London giants could do well signing another forward and Podence would be a good fit at the Emirates Stadium. Podence has performed well under Pedro Mendes’ tutelage at Olympiakos.

The 24-year-old has scored a goal in the Champions League for the Greek outfit. He is averaging 1.2 shots, 1.2 key passes and 2.2 dribbles per game in Europe. [Courtesy: WhoScored.com]

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The pint-sized Portuguese winger usually puts in a tireless shift every time he steps on to the field. In the video below, one can see Podence’s style of play and the qualities he would bring to Arsenal if a move goes through.

Verdict

Podence is a sublime talent with the skillset to succeed in the Premier League. Hence, the Gunners must go all out to sign him in January.