Arteta could land the next Henry as Arsenal make contact for "phenomenal" £44m talent - opinion

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Martin Terrier to the Emirates Stadium in 2023.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to French media outlet Media Foot, who claim that all three of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have approached Stade Rennais for information about the 25-year-old forward, who the Ligue 1 side are believed to value at a figure in the region of €50m (£44m).

The report goes on to suggest that Terrier himself would be open to a move away from Roazhon Park next year, as the former France U21 international has aspirations of joining a major European club in the not-too-distant future in order to help force his way into Didier Deschamps’ France squad.

The next Henry

Considering just how impressive Terrier has been in France in recent seasons, it is easy to see why Mikel Arteta would be interested in a deal to bring the forward to The Emirates either in the January transfer window or next summer.

Indeed, over his 37 Ligue 1 appearances in 2021/22, the £31m-rated talent was in devastating attacking form, scoring 21 goals, registering three assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.4 shots – 1.3 of which hit the target – making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.8 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the player who European football writer Tim Williams dubbed “phenomenal” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.30, not only ranking him as Rennes’ second-best performer in the league but also as the joint 11th-best player in the French top-flight as a whole last time out.

It has been a similar story over the £51k-per-week forward’s 14 Ligue 1 fixtures in the current campaign, with Terrier having already bagged eight goals, provided three assists and created three big chances, as well as taking an average of 3.0 shots – 1.6 of which have been on target – making 1.7 key passes and completing 0.6 dribbles per match.

These metrics have seen the 25-year-old – who is equally comfortable operating as a left-winger or a centre-forward – average a breathtaking Sofascore match rating of 7.55, ranking him not only as Bruno Genesio’s best performer in the division but also as the sixth-best player in the league in its entirety – one place above a certain Kylian Mbappe.

Furthermore, with Terrier being a right-footed left-winger who is a hybrid between a winger and a striker, the aforementioned Williams even went as far as to compare the former French youth international to none other than Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on the Sky Sports Transfer Talk podcast back in the summer, stating:

“He’s a very quick, left-sided right-footed attacking player whose trademark is coming in off the left flank and whipping shots in, a-la Thierry Henry. Looking at his age and the phenomenal season he had last season, he will think that if he is ever going to make a big move to the Premier League, it’s probably going to be now or never.”

As such, considering the fact that Gabriel Jesus looks as if he will be ruled out of action for around three months after picking up a knee injury on international duty with Brazil, the signing of a player in Terrier’s mould would appear an extremely wise move for Arteta this winter – with the 25-year-old possessing the traits to potentially become Arsenal’s next Henry-esque attacker.

Source

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