Arsenal to sign young Dortmund midfielder, but not Gotze

Mario Gotze is one player that the majority of Arsenal fans would love to sign in January, but Arsene Wenger has instead turned his attentions to another of Borussia Dortmund’s batch of young stars to help improve his squad.

Thomas Eisfeld is another to have progressed through the Dortmund academy, but unlike Gotze or Moritz Leitner, he has yet to star in the first team of the German club.

Instead, the 19-year-old has been busy overcoming a cruciate ligament injury and starring for the club’s youth team, putting together a string of fine performances.

The good news for Arsenal is that they have yet another player who potentially has a very bright future, but another who could take a few years to mature and nurture before regularly producing their best.

Meanwhile, the deal is only expected to cost Arsenal £500,000, meaning that Wenger still has a sizeable budget to blow before the closing of the transfer window to boost their chances of finishing in the top four again.

However, some Arsenal fans may be concerned that they have another Amaury Bischoff on their hands, who arrived as a talented, but injury-prone youngster from Werder Bremen.

Bischoff made just one appearance before being shipped off and there is the chance that lightning may strike twice.

Furthermore, solving the current issues within the squad with more youngsters does not seem the solution to helping Arsenal finish in the top four, which can currently be backed at 9/4 in the Premier League odds.

But the bad news is that the big name that can make an instant impact is no closer to arriving and Wenger seems unlikely to change his ways of bringing raw youngsters to the club rather than those who may be more expensive, yet already proven.