One former Arsenal striker has now admitted that he has a dream to play for the club again in the next chapter of his career.
Arsenal, who are thought to want to add a striker to Mikel Arteta’s squad in the summer, have seen some excellent players leave the Emirates over the years.
The likes of Serge Gnabry and Wojciech Szczesny have gone on to achieve so much across Europe, players who were loved by the North Bank.
But sometimes in football these decisions have to be made, and such situations shouldn’t always trigger regret.
And perhaps the path of Donyell Malen should be seen in the same vein, a player who left Arsenal back in 2017.
Malen, who is now 25-years-old, was always seen as a big talent in the Arsenal academy, but chose to leave to seek senior minutes at PSV Eindhoven.
And having now built a stellar reputation at Borussia Dortmund, the former Arsenal player has admitted it would be a dream to play for the club again.
Malen was speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbalzone and explained his ambition in the interview.
Donyell Malen admits it would be a dream to play for Arsenal again
Malen, who Thierry Henry was recently praising after his Champions League exploits for Dortmund, admitted it wasn’t an easy decision to leave North London, but definitely left the door open for a return.
He said: “I think because I played in England as a youth and then it is a dream to play in the Premier League, then I think that is a beautiful dream.
“I went to Arsenal so yes, them. I want Arsenal, my favourite club. Yes [about returning there]. I played there in my youth, I really wanted to break through there so yes.
“Every now and then in a football career there are points at which you just have to make a decision.
“Yes, I was training with the first team, and I was 17, 18 at the time and I did make steps in the optics, but I thought yes, I have to just play professional football.
“I also saw my teammates playing professional football while I was still playing youth football and I just knew [leaving] was the right thing to do.”
It’s not impossible
Of course, given how versatile Malen is across attacking positions, an Arsenal return perhaps isn’t the worst idea.
Mikel Arteta will ultimately make the call there, but fans would surely be very pleased to see the former Arsenal man fulfilling his dream back at the club, a striker who could play a key part.
Malen has 12 goals in 30 games for Dortmund this season, a tidy return for a player often out wide.
And the Dutchman could perhaps help Arsenal continue their impressive goal scoring, which recently broke a Premier League record.
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