‘Fantastic’ PL player used to train at Arsenal as a nine-year-old, now Arteta reportedly wants to sign him

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The Sun revealed this week that Arsenal are among a number of clubs interested in Crystal Palace youngster Michael Olise.

The Gunners already have the youngest squad in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta and Edu have made it clear that their transfer policy is to sign young players and help them develop into top-quality stars in a few years’ time.

Arsenal signed Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the summer and all five of them were under the age of 24.

It looks like the Gunners will maintain a similar strategy in the summer and Olise checks that box. The Palace man isn’t too unfamiliar with Arsenal either.

• Report: Arsenal now want to sign ‘special talent’ from PL side, they went after him in 2021 too

Michael Olise used to train at Arsenal as a kid

Olise has been a spectacular talent since he was a kid. The London-born Frenchman caught the eye of everyone when he was just nine years of age, and he was invited to train at some of the biggest clubs in the country.

At the under-nines level, players are allowed to train with multiple clubs at the same time. Olise took that opportunity and according to The Guardian, was involved with Chelsea, Manchester City and also Arsenal, who ironically want to sign him now.

Olise, now labelled as ‘fantastic‘ by Patrick Vieira, ended up signing for Chelsea’s academy in the end instead of Arsenal, only because his family lived closer to the Blues than they did to North London.

• Report: ‘Incredible’ Arsenal man set to sign new three-year deal with big pay-rise this summer

Nicolas Pepe replacement

Arsenal spent big money on Nicolas Pepe in 2019 but the Ivorian, despite some flashy dribbling and a few stunning goals, hasn’t done enough to warrant a place in the starting eleven.

The summer transfer window will give Arsenal the option of cutting their losses and moving him on. Pepe might want to leave as well considering that there’s no way he’ll overtake Bukayo Saka in the pecking order to start on the right-wing.

If the ex-Lille man ends up leaving, Michael Olise would be a phenomenal option for Arsenal. He’s about the same age as Saka and the two talented youngsters could make the right-wing at the Emirates their own for the next decade.

However, whether the Crystal Palace youngster will agree to move and play second-fiddle to Saka is a completely different story.

• ‘Time is right’: TalkSPORT pundit says ‘special’ player needs to leave Arsenal if they don’t make the top four