Who is Arsenal target Ismaila Sarr? A shrewd spot by Mislintat?
According to reports in the Mirror, Arsenal are ready to battle with Italian club Inter Milan for Rennes winger Ismaila Sarr. The Senegalese is rated as one of the hottest properties in Europe, after performing very well in the French Ligue 1.
The 20-year-old went to the World Cup with the national team and is likened to Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele in many respects. He thrived in the little playing time he got in Russia. (Mirror)
Sarr underlined his big future tag with a wonder goal in the Europa League last week. He is valued at around £20m by Rennes. Along with Arsenal, Inter Milan are also taking a close look at the player.
Here’s everything you need to know about the player:
Player report – Ismaila Sarr
Age – 20
Main Position – Winger (left and right), Forward
Current Club – Rennes
Sarr is one of those versatile attacking players who can play in any position across the front-line and perform at the highest level. This season, the 20-year-old has been deployed at right-wing, left-wing, centre-forward and right midfield by the Rennes manager (as depicted in whoscored.com).
Despite all that jugular, the Senegalese international has been able to impact the game to the best of his abilities. Playing through balls and dribbling past the defenders at pace are his key attributes, which is frightening.
Dipping into some of his stats from this campaign, Sarr has a key pass rate of 0.5 in the league and 3 in the Europa League. His dribble averages up to 1.7 and 1 per game respectively. The youngster’s pace is very dangerous, especially when there is a counter-attacking situation.
It is sensible from Arsenal’s point of view to target this player. Unai Emery’s men are short on numbers and quality when it comes to wide players. Alex Iwobi is the only genuine winger the Gunners have in their squad. Players like Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey are not wide attackers by trade.
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Hence, it’d be wise for Emery to have another natural wide player who is versatile. In Sarr, the manager will get a player who is adept on either wing – a much-needed quality considering Arsenal’s squad balance.