Arsenal head into December with a seat at the top of the table, with Mikel Arteta's side taking advantage of Manchester City and Liverpool's draw last weekend by beating Brentford and bouncing ahead to first place in the Premier League.
Some have claimed that Arsenal's awe-inspiring attacking flair from last season has dissipated like dust in the wind: Wednesday's 6-0 romp over Lens in the Champions League answered that one.
Fair enough, the Gunners are currently sixth in the English top-flight's scoring charts with 27 goals but have demonstrated their title-winning credentials with a rock-solid base, with their ten goals conceded the best in the division.
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It's a testament to the team that Arteta has meticulously created over the past several years that some question the snap and the wow factor while forgetting to factor in the unadorned certitude that this is a fantastic set of players with enough quality to compete and triumph in both the Premier League and Champions League.
Arteta would be the first to acknowledge in the transfer room that the work is hardly done, with technical director Edu believed to be working on a fresh addition to augment and improve the existing ranks.
Arsenal transfer news – Ousmane Diomande
According to Portuguese outlet Record – via Sport Witness – Arsenal are in pole position to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande in 2024, having failed with a €35m (£30m) offer already.
The talented defender is understood to have an €80m (£69m) release clause embedded in his contract, with the Leões certain to demand a figure in that ballpark for his departure.
Real Madrid are also interested in a deal, which only accelerates the urgency surrounding a prospective transfer, though with the Gunners 'guaranteed' to return with a bid in 2024, Arteta may well get his man.
Diomande's style of play
Aged just 19, Diomande has already amassed 33 appearances for Sporting, having broken into the first-team across the latter half of the 2022/23 season, making 17 displays across all competitions.
Notably, the teenage titan played both legs in Sporting's Europa League knockout ties against Arsenal and Juventus last season, completing 91% of his passes, averaging two tackles and clearances per game, succeeding with 100% of his dribbles and remarkably winning 73% of his contested duels, as per Sofascore.
Such metrics are just a representation of his imperious skill set, which he has built and sculpted into something even greater this season, sustaining a noteworthy level of performance that has compelled Arteta to further his intrigue, moulding it into something solid and imminent.
Statistic
#
Apps
11
Starts
11
Goals
1
Assists
1
Pass completion
90%
Key passes per game
0.5
Tackles per game
1.7
Recoveries per game
5.7
Clearances per game
1.6
Dribble success
73%
Duels success
65%
*Sourced via Sofascore
One of the most exciting modern-styled centre-backs around, Diomande ranks among the top 12% of positional peers across divisions similar to the Liga Portugal for goals, the top 4% for pass completion and progressive passes, the top 6% for progressive carries and shot-creating actions, the top 5% for successful take-ons and the top 11% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.
Effectively, such metrics showcase the celestial precocity that has arrested the intrigue of Arsenal and Los Blancos; moreover, the “Ivorian Jewel” – as he has been dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig – has started all 11 matches in the Portuguese top-flight, and a forthcoming role in a squad such as Arsenal's may well be attainable.
FBref even lists Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber as Diomande's most comparable player, which only strengthens the notion that the 6 foot 3 colossus would be a worthy addition to a youthful Gunners side, still burgeoning and coursing toward more silver-laden success under Arteta's wing.
How Diomande compares to Jurrien Timber
The one-cap Ivory Coast international is first-class with his distribution and frequently seeks to drive the ball forward by playing out from the back, instigating promising passages from deep while also driving up the pitch himself.
Such skills are indeed similar to Timber's, who signed for Arsenal from Ajax for £38m in the summer after impressing in his native Netherlands, completing 121 matches and even being branded a "generational superstar" by journalist Antonio Mango for his labours.
Sadly, the 22-year-old managed just 50 minutes on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest before being forced off with a serious knee injury, which required surgery and ruled him out for the lion's share of the 2023/24 campaign.
Dynamic and fluid in his positional value, Timber ranks within the top 5% of central defenders across divisions similar to the Dutch Eredivisie for shot-creating actions, pass completion, progressive passes, progressive carries, successful take-ons and passes attempted per 90. Similar to Diomande indeed.
While such statistics are not applicable in comparison to Premier League players, the £90k-per-week whiz is still evidently one of the most creative and athletic defenders around, slotting into Arteta's system like a dovetail joint.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Passing
Aerial duels
Dribbling
Tackling
Concentration
*Sourced via WhoScored
While Timber is comfortable playing centrally and out wide, something that, so far, Diomande has not shown signs of emulating, the Sporting starlet still boasts many similar qualities that make Arteta's vested interest in his signature more than understandable.
Last season, in the Netherlands, Timber completed 92% of his passes in the league, with security in possession and crispness and creativity in distribution seemingly staples of Arteta's reign.
And such a method speaks for itself, with the Gunners perched in first place after flirting so tantalisingly with the Premier League title last campaign.
There has been a discernible growth; a maturity, perhaps, that bespeaks Arsenal's ability to vanquish the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool and win the trophy.
By signing the "elite talent" that is Diomande – according to Kulig – the strength in depth could give the club's Spanish manager the ingredients to stir Arsenal towards success.
