Despite a slight stumble during the festive period, Arsenal have once again found themselves in the midst of a title fight in the Premier League this year, only this time, they have two opponents to contend with: Manchester City and Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta's side aren't quite as free-flowing and intense in attack as they were last campaign, but with the addition of Declan Rice and some tactical tweaks here and there, they look significantly more assured in midfield and defence, something borne out by the fact that they hold the second-best defensive record in the division.
However, for as good as the north Londoners have looked in defence and midfield, they're only really one injury away from a minor crisis, as behind Rice, Arteta can only call on an ageing Jorginho and an injury-prone Thomas Partey, who simply cannot be relied upon to remain fit anymore, with the Ghanaian missing a massive 66 games and counting for club and country since making the move to N5 three years ago.
With this problem impossible to ignore, the club have made no secret about their desire to sign a new, younger central midfielder who can fill in at six in case of a Rice absence, with Everton's Amadou Onana, Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi and, perhaps more than any other, Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz constantly linked with the North Londoners this month.
Arsenal's longstanding interest
The first murmurings of the Gunners' interest in Villa's Brazilian machine sprung up in the dying hours of the 2022 summer transfer window, as the club saw three offers rebuffed by the Villans before the player then signed a new five-year deal at the club a few months later.
However, that new long-term deal obviously did little to deter Edu and Co, as they maintained their interest in the former City youth product, and the links came back in full force in the January transfer window.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, though, a report from Football Insider earlier in January revealed that a move for Luiz mid-way through the season would cost any interested parties at least £100m, essentially killing any move before it had a chance to develop.
With the fee unlikely to drop much in the summer, lest Luiz kicks up an almighty fuss, it might be wiser for Arsenal to finally drop their interest and instead turn to a Hale End graduate who is currently tearing it up in the Championship.
Charlie Patino's career so far
Charlie Patino has been playing senior football for two seasons now, but he first made a name for himself with the Arsenal and England junior sides.
The midfield "maestro", as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him at the time, made 25 appearances for the Gunners U18 side, in which he scored one goal and provided four assists, before going on to make 22 appearances for the U21 side, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
At the same time, he was rapidly progressing through the England ranks, making his debut for the U15 side in February 2018 and reaching the U21 squad just five years later.
He has won 22 junior caps and represented every age group from the U15s to the U21s, scoring three goals in the process.
With how well he was performing at the youth level, it was only a matter of time until he made his senior debut for the Gunners, and when it did come in December 2021, he made sure to leave an impression, scoring his first senior goal for the club within minutes of his entrance.
His first start would come just a month later in the FA Cup, and while the result – a loss against Nottingham Forest – was far from ideal, his talent was evident to see.
With youth football firmly behind him, he spent a fruitful albeit doomed campaign on loan with Blackpool last year before heading to Swansea City this season, where he has been fantastic.
37
3
4
0.189
How Charlie Patino compares to Douglas Luiz this season
Now, if your initial thought is that Luiz, one of the key players for a top-four chasing team in the Premier League, must be leaps and bounds ahead of a 20-year-old who has but one full season of senior football behind him, you'd probably be right – most of the time anyway.
However, Patino is, in the words of journalist Phil Smith, a "special talent", and with how well he is performing for the Swans in the Championship this season, there is a chance that he could make the step up to top-flight football next season and cement himself in the midfield of a title-chasing Arsenal side.
The Watford-born gem has made 24 appearances for the Welsh side so far, scored four goals, and provided four assists, giving him a goal involvement every three games on average, which is pretty remarkable for a youngster who primarily plays in central midfield.
In contrast, Villa's midfield monster has made 32 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring seven goals and providing six assists, giving him a goal involvement every 2.46 games.
While that is slightly more impressive on the surface, four of his goals have been penalties, making a £100m investment a little harder to justify on that front.
Finally, how do the pair's underlying numbers stack up? Well, somewhat surprisingly, it's the Arsenal man who emerges victorious in the majority of metrics relevant to a modern-day central midfielder.
For example, he produces a more impressive non-penalty expected goal and assists figure, more shot and goal-creating actions, makes more interceptions and clearances per 90, and is more adept at taking on defenders.
Stats per 90
Luiz
Patino
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.23
0.31
Non-Penalty Goals
0.10
0.25
Assists
0.15
0.33
Progressive Carries
2.11
1.33
Progressive Passes
5.88
4.83
Shots on target percentage
21.2%
27.3%
Goals per Shot on Target
0.29
1.00
Shot-Creating Actions
3.83
3.84
Goal-Creating Actions
0.29
0.33
Tackles won
1.23
0.58
Interceptions
0.74
1.08
Clearances
0.74
0.83
Successful Take-Ons
0.74
1.25
Aerial Duels Won
0.83
1.33
Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season
In his defence, Luiz produces more progressive passes and carries per 90, but under the tutelage of Arteta and with more quality around him, there's no apparent reason why Patino couldn't eventually produce the same numbers as the Brazilian.
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ByJack Salveson HolmesFeb 1, 2024
Ultimately, there is a risk in going with youth, but in today's FFP and PSR-aware world, there is arguably more risk in spending vast sums of money on a player a team doesn't need.
Anyway, trusting in the youth worked pretty well regarding Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.