Should Arsenal sign some more stars of the Scottish Premiership?


Kieran Tierney

Should Arsenal sign some more stars of the Scottish Premiership?


By Tom Masters

Ahead of the summer transfer window Arsenal will no doubt already be making recruitment plans, with a few key areas holding them back.

Mikel Arteta will almost certainly have his eye on a holding midfielder, while with Alexandre Lacazette’s future in doubt it is likely the Spaniard will be looking at bringing in at least one centre forward this summer. 

 

Arteta will be scouring the European market for a bargain, which may mean looking away from the traditional top five European leagues, and instead looking at where Arteta himself came from – The Scottish Premiership. 

 

20 years ago, Arteta made the switch from Barcelona to Rangers for £6m and took to it like a duck to water, scoring on his Old Firm debut and netting several more goals in his debut SPFL season as Rangers went on to seal a domestic treble in 2003. 

 

That season really kick-started the career of Arteta, who spent a season at Real Sociedad before earning his first call-up to the Premier League when Everton signed him. 

 

Initially on loan, he sealed a permanent move to Goodison Park in the Summer of 2005, spending six years there, before earning his £10m move to Arsenal in 2011. 

 

Now of course managing the Gunners, Arteta may choose to look for the next SPFL star to make the move to North London. 

One of Arsenal’s key players right now, left back Kieran Tierney was signed from Celtic for £24m the summer before Arteta took over, and he has fast become one of the first names on the team sheet. 

So who could follow in the footsteps of the likes of Arteta and Tierney?

 

Players that Arsenal could target from the SPFL 

 

Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 

 

At 25, the Colombian has developed a reputation for being a hothead after receiving several red cards in his first few seasons at the club. 

 

But Morelos has always had talent, and under Steven Gerrard and then Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has become a much more mature and disciplined centre forward, not receiving a single red card in the past two seasons. 

 

His goal scoring record in the Scottish Premier League is outstanding, with 12 goals and seven assists in 26 appearances this season. 

 

Arsenal need a goal scorer and Morelos certainly ticks that box, also scoring four goals in nine Europa League appearances for Rangers. 

 

With his contract running out at the end of May 2023, Arteta may look to the Colombian forward as a potential replacement for Lacazette, whose future is unclear. 

 

Christopher Jullien (Celtic) 

 

Taking a defender from Celtic to the Premier League is something that has previously yielded excellent results, with Southampton signing Virgil Van Dijk from Celtic for £14m in 2015 - and we all know what he has gone on to achieve. 

 

Jullien joined Celtic from Toulouse in the Summer of 2019 and became a focal part of their defence in the 2019/20 season, before struggling in the following two seasons with injuries. 

 

The 29-year-old French central defender is an experienced campaigner, having made 108 appearances for Toulouse, as well as the 62 he has made at Celtic, and he has always had the ability to pop up with a goal as well as form part of a robust defence. 

 

Jullien may be deemed a risk due to his injury record (he’s only played 16 minutes this campaign) and his age, but Arteta may be able to land him cheaply. 

 

If he did secure the services of Jullien, whose contract also runs out on May 31 2023, Arteta may feel he could get the best out of him. 

 

James Tavernier (Rangers) 

 

Tavernier has played for a plethora of clubs in the English Football League, including Newcastle United, Bristol City, Carlisle United and Rotherham United, but he very much found his home and his form at Rangers. 

 

Since moving from Wigan Athletic to Rangers for £225,000 after another unsuccessful stint in England the Bradford born right back has excelled. 

 

In 334 appearances for Rangers he has scored 77 times and has 105 assists, and he is a prime example of the modern day full-back, in a similar mould to the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James down the right-hand side. 

 

Arsenal have Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric in that position, but Tavernier is certainly someone that could take Arsenal forward, although at 30, his age could be a concern for Arteta. 

Verdict:

It is not clear whether any of the above players would be able to make the jump from the Scottish Premiership to the Premier League, but Arteta could do a lot worse than attempting to sign one of the three players mentioned above, especially considering their potentially low price tag.

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