Will Arsenal regret letting Luke Plange leave the club?

Will Arsenal regret letting Luke Plange leave the club?


By Oliver Gafsen
It's far from certain Luke Plange would have survived a January transfer purge that left Mikel Arteta struggling to field a futsal team.
His 2021 academy transfer to Derby is unlikely to foster the regret of watching Serge Gnabry at Bayern or the bubbling rage of Van Persie at United.
However, with Vieira forking out £1million for the young striker who retired Tom Huddleston with a double nutmeg last Thursday, Stan Kroenke may be chucking the cheque book to Josh in years to come.
Born in Twickenham, Plange attracted immediate attention from Fulham, Palace and Chelsea, but his heart was on Arsenal, joining the academy aged six for the two hour trip to Hale End.
He showed early promise, making his U18 debut at 15 with seven goals in 23 appearances, but was pushed off the ball too easily in the U23s, moving to Pride Park last March on a free.
The 19-year-old wasn't deterred, showing his resilience with five goals in seven starts for Derby U23s, including a brace in a 5-3 victory over his former club, bulking from boy to man.

Rising through the ranks at Derby

In December, he earned a first-team call-up from manager Wayne Rooney, already netting three and proving he can box with the toughest Championship defenders.
Since then, he's been on fire, earning the admiration of several clubs in the Premier League.
Rooney said: "You see his attributes. He is a big lad, he can handle himself, and he held the ball up well.
"It was not just his goal. His work rate was fantastic, some of his movement and runs in behind were really good."
Plange signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Palace on deadline day before being loaned back to help Derby fight for survival following their transfer embargo and 21-point deduction since falling into administration.
The teenager is a long way from answering Arsenal's number nine woes, more comfortable in a 4-4-2 rather than the 4-3-3 prefered by Arteta.
Still, when he returns to London next season, he will be under a brilliant tutor in the form of the French footballing icon.
And considering Palace's recent record on signing from the Championship, maybe Arteta has missed something here.
Plange said: "Vieira is such a big name for Arsenal as well, part of the Invincible team. That's a big figure to be playing underneath.
"Ronaldo or Thierry Henry were my idols. They were just world-class. I've been watching them for a long time: clips or old games. They were really powerful, skilful and scored loads of goals.
"I like to do it all, to run in-behind, to come to feet, to take on players. Shooting from outside the box, poaching inside the box, on my left and my right. I'll keep adapting to improve myself."

Conclusion

Only time will tell if Plange is truly a Premier League striker, and there's no doubt that the youngster is raw and has a long way to go before he's ready to lead the line in the Premier League.
But Gunners fans should be proud of a player who responded to disappointment in the right way.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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