After a disappointing 2020-21 season comes to an end, Arsenal will have a busy and tough transfer market this time but will look to do their best to recruit some fresh talent and some experienced players into their mix.
One of the main reasons for this disastrous season has to be their defensive unit, who hasn’t had so much effect on the pitch as they have made some simple yet costly mistakes, which have eventually have not only cost them the Premier League, in which they are sitting at 8th position with 61 points and the Europa Cup this season but also not playing in any European football for the upcoming season, which has happened for the first time over 25 years.
One of the positions which need to have reinforcements is the Goalkeeping position and Mikel Arteta is eying the 25-year old Ajax player Andre Onana. The Cameroonian international is currently serving a one-year ban which was given to him by UEFA in February and has not played any club football since February 2021.
About Andre Onana
Andre Onana was born in Nkol Ngok, Cameroon. He joined Barcelona’s youth academy ‘La Masia’ in 2010 after starting out at the Samuel Eto’o Foundation. Then in February 2015, he joined the Dutch club ‘Ajax’ and debuted for them in the same month. In March 2019 he signed a new contract with Ajax, which saw him in the Dutch club until June 2022.
He was pretty interested in playing in the Premier League in England and last year, he was even very close to signing for Chelsea was almost going to sign him for £30 million until they found Edouard Mendy which they eventually signed for £22 million.
About his 12-months Ban from Football
In January 2021, he failed a drug test as ‘furosemide’, a banned substance was found in his urine sample and after discovering about the same, on February 2021, UEFA handed him a 12-month ban from football, where not only he cannot play any official matches for Ajax but also cannot train with the team for one whole year.
In his defense, Onana has stated that it was an accident, having mistaken his wife’s prescription medication for aspirin due to similar packaging. and have also said that the ban is “excessive and disproportionate.” While UEFA has also stated that they accept the fact that the player wasn’t trying to gain an unfair sporting advantage. Still, they made clear when dishing out his punishment that “an athlete has a duty of care at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body.”
Still, for now, he’s hopeful that an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, set for tomorrow, will see his suspension reduced.
For Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal team
For Arsenal, this season, their first-choice goalkeeper Brend Leno has made some silly mistakes and has shown some slacking between the sticks, and because of that, there have been several question marks raised around Leno’s future in this club. But other than that, Mat Ryan will be returning to his parent club Brighton as he has finished his loan spell in Arsenal.
Arsenal will be keen on buying a goalkeeper in this year’s Summer transfer market, and for that Arteta has set his eyes on Andre Onana, who will most likely be available at a cheaper price due to his current circumstances. Reports this week have stated that Mikel Arteta could wrap up this signing for as little as just under €2 million that is; £1.73 million to be precise. Even if he has his sentence reduced, he’ll still be available for between £6 to 9 million, which is a great bargain for a player of such high caliber.
This will be a key signing for Arteta and his side as he is still 25 years old and can play for a long time and can be a mainstay for the Gunners. And although, He is still young yet, he has still shown his temperament and his skills on big stages of European football. And, if the Gunners sign him, it will be up to Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal club to mold and shape his skill as a top-class goalkeeper as he has shown immense promise between the sticks for Ajax for many years.
