Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery could pounce on a potential transfer mistake made by his old side by sealing a deal for an ex-player.
The 53-year-old manager has come in for plenty of praise for the job he has done at Aston Villa, turning them from relegation battlers to European challengers.
Emery managed to steer the Villains away from Premier League danger and into the Champions League, something of a far cry from his days at Arsenal.
The manager wasn’t the most popular figure at the Emirates Stadium after taking over from Arsene Wenger.
While he did make a Europa League final, Emery struggled to turn things around with the Gunners and was dismissed after roughly one season and a half.
Now with Villa, the manager has made Arsenal pay on a few occasions and could make them do so again on the transfer front.
Aston Villa want transfer for former Arsenal player Donyell Malen
As the January transfer window opens, both Arsenal and Aston Villa are looking to strengthen their forward ranks.
Arsenal have an eight-man transfer shortlist, with several different centre-forwards and wingers currently on their radar.
They may not have needed to enter the market though, if they held on to one star that they signed for the Hale End academy.
That player was Donyell Malen, who joined from Ajax in 2015 but went on to leave for PSV in 2017 for a fee of just over £500,000.
It’s a relatively small fee for a star who has gone on to impress for both PSV and Borussia Dortmund and at 25 years old, he may not be done hitting the heights yet.
That’s because, according to The Athletic, Malen is wanted by Aston Villa this January in a potential transfer switch.
A first offer has been made by the Villains, though it doesn’t quite meet the valuation set by Borussia Dortmund.
It remains to be seen whether Emery can land the former Arsenal man to haunt the side once again.
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Why did Donyell Malen leave Arsenal?
It may come as a surprise to some that Malen was involved in the Arsenal youth ranks for a few years before he moved on to new opportunities.
Now playing at the very top, it seems to be an opportunity missed for the Gunners, though he has already explained why he left.
Speaking to Eindhovens Dagblad, he explained “It was going well in England, but I still wanted to leave Arsenal because I had the opportunity to sign for PSV. I took that chance.”
It’s an opportunity missed for Arsenal, one that Emery may well take for himself in the transfer market.
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