Arsenal could turn their attention to Club Brugge’s Noa Lang, as an alternative for Raphinha.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, who notes that Mikel Arteta considers the Dutch winger his “plan B” after failed talks to sign the Leeds United winger.

As Chelsea appear to be finalising their deal for Raphinha, Arsenal will reportedly turn their attention elsewhere.

The Spanish manager will have already had Lang prepared as an alternative, as he quickly turns his attention towards signing him up.

Could be better than Raphinha

Lang could enter the Premier League with all the swagger and arrogance needed to succeed, and could even outperform that of the Gunners’ initial target.

Last season in the league, the 23-year-old recorded an impressive 19 goal contributions across 31 league games.

With the ability to play all across the forward line, this versatile attacker could bolster Arteta’s attack and provide healthy competition for every position. Nobody would be safe from being outperformed by this tricky youngster.

He also boasts an average SofaScore rating of 7.20, which is unsurprising given his fine goalscoring form. It is this form that led respected journalist Graham Smyth to label him an “exciting” prospect, who is a “goal and assist machine”.

For comparison, Raphinha only recorded a 6.97 average SofaScore rating, and 14 goal contributions in the league this year with four extra games than Lang.

His willingness to always attack is another aspect of his game that has drawn praise, as he ranks in the 98^th percentile for progressive passes, and the 95^th percentile for progressive carries.

The attacking desire and directness of the £19.8m-rated ace could only further what is an already potent Arsenal attacking force.

His arrogance and self-confidence erupted when he claimed “Believe me: Belgium will miss me when I'm gone. I gave your football colour. Next season you will pray that there will be a Noa Lang walking around in Belgium, who can also play football so well."

His belief in his own ability could see him go one of two ways: he could either see himself rise to the stars or fall down in embarrassment.

If Arsenal are to take a punt on the forward, who would certainly cost far less than that of Raphinha, they could end up with a player who had a much higher ceiling and consequently could perform to a much higher level.

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