Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had a lot of success during his time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager at Manchester City before he was appointed to his current role.
During that time, Arteta helped the Citizens win numerous domestic trophies and pick up vital experience managing some top players.
One player, for example, who played a big part in City’s success while Arteta was there is Kevin De Bruyne.
With 317 appearances for the Manchester club under his belt, the Belgian has scored 87 goals and provided 129 assists.
Now at Arsenal’s helm, Arteta could potentially have his eyes on signing his own version of City’s prolific midfielder for the north London club.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Gunners have been watching Rennes midfielder Lovro Majer in action, who, in addition to having De Bruyne included on a list of similar players to him according to FBref, has also shown in his performance how alike he is to the City star.
For example, last season saw both players rack up eight assists and have an almost identical percentage of shots on target (40% vs 40.3%).
The duo also made 24 successful dribbles each and totalled an almost similar number of carries into the final third of the pitch (81 vs 73).
Hailed as a “phenomenal” player by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Majer has 44 goals and 52 assists under his belt in 205 senior club appearances, further highlighting how similar he is to De Bruyne by being able to score and set up goals for his teammates.
Taking all of this into account, if an opportunity arises to sign the 24-year-old in the near future, Arteta should do all he can to get the Croatian to the Emirates, as the chance to land his own version of De Bruyne is a mouth-watering prospect that could be a long-term benefit for the club.
