Arsenal abandoned January deal for ‘excellent’ teenager, could start against Gunners today
Arsenal meet Sporting in the Europa League tonight, meaning he may face defender Ousmane Diomande – a current target for the Gunners.
Arsenal fans have probably just calmed down after Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 Premier League win over Bournemouth.
However, Premier League football takes a backseat tonight as Arsenal focus on the Europa League.
Mikel Arteta is taking his Gunners side to Lisbon to face Sporting in what could be a real banana skin.
Ruben Amorim’s men beat Tottenham 2-0 at home in the Champions League group stage and would happily beat the other big North London side.
There has been a lot of focus on Hector Bellerin and the possibility of him facing Arsenal tonight.
Another interesting name is Sporting defender Diomande, who was a target for Arsenal in the January transfer window.
Arsenal meet recent target Ousmane Diomande
Diomande was a somewhat surprising name in the mix for Arsenal in January.
Mais Futebol and CNN Portugal reporter Bruno Andrade claimed in January that Arsenal wanted to sign Diomande from Midtjylland.
The Ivory Coast defender is on loan at Portuguese second division side Mafra and has gotten on Arsenal’s radar.
added Andrade that Arsenal were exploring a deal to buy Diomande and loan him to Sporting – but the need for a new midfielder meant the move was abandoned.
Sporting eventually signed Diomande on a permanent basis, including a €80m (£71m) release clause in his contract.
The 19-year-old is considered one of the future but is already showing real potential at Sporting.
Diomande played the full 90 minutes against Portimonsense last weekend and could be involved against Arsenal tonight.
Diomande may be battling for a starting role with Jeremiah St Juste tonight, joining Sebastian Coates and Goncalo Inacio in a back three.
St Juste has now told Record he thinks Diomande is an “excellent” player at this early stage in his career – and Arsenal will already know all about him before they potentially face him in Lisbon.
“He’s an excellent player, a great teammate, we have a good relationship,” said St. Juste. “We have a lot of good defenders who can compete at the highest level. That’s what I think.”
In other news, Michael Owen says the £35m star is the “only one” who can replace Roberto Firmino at Liverpool