Arsenal seem poised to finish in the top-four ahead of an expectedly optimistic summer. Among numerous targets for Arsenal is a certain Noa Lang. He has surfaced on the radar of numerous top clubs owing to his mesmerising performances for Club Brugge over the past two campaigns. The promising forward is expected to attract several suitors in the summer. The Gunners are also expected to submit a bid for the youngster in due course.
Yes, Arsenal have shown notable growth in their performance and chemistry on the pitch over the course of the ongoing campaign. Yes, Mikel Arteta’s side have come to exceed expectations. The Gunners also look amongst the most stable and consistent sides in the Premier League right now. However, despite their recent progress, much remains to be rectified at the North London club.
With Arteta having made promising signings last summer, the Spaniard will demand another raft of talented youngsters ahead of next season. They have been drawing up potential targets for the summer in a bid to bolster their forward line ahead of next season.
A slew of senior and promising prospects having been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates in recent windows. Among them, 22-year-old Dutch international Noa Lang emerges as a prospect most likely to end up at Arsenal in the summer.
Early Days: From Ajax To Club Brugge
After his early days playing football for FC Twente, Lang was snapped up by the Ajax academy in 2013. Since then, the forward made his way through numerous youth competitions before making his debut for the club’s senior team in 2019. Following a promising debut, the youngster was sent out on loan to FC Twente for the first phase of the 2019/20 campaign before returning to Ajax. On his return, he bagged a notable hat-trick against FC Twente in the second half of the season.
He had made only 14 senior appearances for Ajax. But the youngster managed to strengthen an already credible repertoire following a productive youth career with the club. Following his club debut at the age of 17 in 2017, Lang went on to score numerous UEFA Youth Cup goals against the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid for a highly-talented Ajax U-19 team; paving the way for his senior debut two years later.
While the youngster failed to become a first-team regular at Ajax, a loan move to Club Brugge for the 2020/21 campaign resulted in an exceptional season for Lang, where he accounted for 16 goals and eight assists in 29 appearances.
Having shown versatility and enormous talent in his first season at the Belgian club, Lang succeeded in gaining regular minutes across all competitions before moving permanently to Club Brugge on a €6m fee last summer. Moreover, his exceptional performances resulted in his first national team call-up in October 2021. He has merited three caps for the national team till now.
The Dutch forward had already won the league and cup double with Ajax. The youngster has won the league title with Club Brugge in the 2021 season. Lang was awarded the Belgian league’s Young Player of the Year Award that season.
A Versatile Attacker
He has already netted eight goals alongside 13 assists in 38 appearances this season. Consequently, the youngster is setting up for an ambitious move in the summer. His goal-scoring numbers speak for themselves. His versatility is likely to help him succeed at the top-most level of football. Given his envious technical prowess, the youngster has featured across all positions in midfield and attack in his career.
Lang has most commonly been deployed as a left-winger. But the youngster has also featured 19 times as a central forward or a second-striker. Additionally, he has operated as a central midfielder on 29 occasions, played 17 times as an attacking midfielder, and featured 27 times from the right flank.
A Perfect Fit For Arteta’s System
With the ability to play across the attacking third, Lang is capable of operating as a junction of activity and creativity in possession. According to Scouted Football, Lang possesses immense creativity and intelligent movement in his ability to “switch from a languid presence moving between the lines to a more dynamic style with rapid changes of tempo.”\
The youngster is said to be at his best when shifting from wide areas into half-spaces. Noa Lang specialises in creating spaces and maintaining the level of high-involvement possession football which is reflective of Mikel Arteta’s developing philosophy for Arsenal.
Moreover, the youngster is also regarded as a combination player. He is capable of disrupting defensive lines with his quick passing and change in tempo close to the 18-yard-box. Lang has some similarities to Bukayo Saka. The young Dutchman possesses the ability to not only dribble past defenders but play a fruitful pass at the right moment in a bid to maintain possession on the pitch.
Here's Why AC Milan Want to Sign Noa Lang
— 🇦🇷 (@BruxoGuimaraesS) January 28, 2022
Moving diagonally into the box, Lang’s best asset is said to be his shift in balance when accelerating in possession. It allows him to create and maintain distance from oncoming defenders. In addition to his technical intelligence, the youngster also serves as an imperative goal-scoring threat. He tends to find spaces and remain active in and around the penalty box. This helps him in getting shots off from numerous areas around the box through dribbling.
He can shift quickly to work an angle. He can also make runs into the box in a bid to receive the ball in a goal-scoring position. Lang is said to prefer a right-footed power-driven finish. But he possesses a variety of finishes in his arsenal, all executed in a composed and collected manner on the pitch.
Conclusion
He has been involved in more than half of Club Brugge’s goal during the 2020/21 campaign. Lang is said to possess the ball retention skills required at the Premier League standard. At Arsenal, Noa Lang is more than likely to emerge as a tailored fit to Arteta’s philosophy. Especially given his versatility and talent to supplement an already charming philosophy at the club, the Gunners will get a bargain at £33million.
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Sports journalist and Club Brugge watcher Bart Lagae says the youngster is likely to succeed at the Emirates. It is because of his ability to play on either flank and his preparedness to supplement his fellow attackers. Moreover, as per reports, Lang’s profile is said to have caught the eye of Arteta.
The Gunners are likely to enter the race for his services in the summer. Nevertheless, the Gunners need to secure top-four and then display their ambition in the transfer market. Noa Lang is likely to be included in a short list of forwards to be pursued by Arsenal in the summer.
