Gunners, waiting for Götze? No longer, Thomas Eisfeld, 19 years old, who’s supposed to be even more Götze than Mario Götze and comes from the same club arrives at the Emirates for a princely sum of £420,000. Which means dear Gunners, if you’re waiting for the real thing, you’re doing it at your own hazard. And he’s not coming too.
Eisfeld’s childhood idol is Tomas Rosicky, also a Dortmund protege which should give an inkling of what to expect on the pitch. He has already started training with the Arsenal reserves.
Arsene Wenger has been tracking Eisfeld at Dortmund’s youth team where he has been in impressive form. Six goals and six assists in 12 matches or some eye popping stat like that. He was supposed to have come at the end of the season but his contract was over, necessitating a preemptive move. Wenger on him:
“He is young but has proven to us that he can play, that he has the attitude and technical ability to be a valuable addition to our squad.”
Eisfeld is listed as a attacking midfielder but can “can play in a variety of positions” which is nice because of the number of injuries Arsenal suffer.
Did we say injuries? Because he also comes with an Arsenal prerequisite: Injuries. A cruciate ligament injury almost brought his short career to an end in 2009. Arsenal have certified he’s healthy and disease free which in retrospect is a poor prognosticator at a club that has had 11 players out this season with injuries. You get the word bubble.
Here is a short clip. Make what you can >>