Arsenal are on the verge of making their first signing of the January transfer window. Seventeen-year-old Polish youth international Krystian Bielik has undergone a medical at London Colney today ahead of a transfer worth around €2.5 million, a substantial fee for one so young, from Legia Warszaw. The six-foot two-inch midfielder, who idolises Yaya Touré, has evidently caught the eyes and imagination of Arsène Wenger and his legion of scouts. The feeling is mutual, though, as Krystian Bielik emphasised the attraction of Arsène Wenger to Polish publication, Gazeta Wyborcza.
‘First of all, because of Arsène Wenger. He is a legend, ‘The Boss’ as they call him at Arsenal,’ the seventeen-year-old stated when asked about why he chose Arsenal over Bundesliga club SV Hamburger and their manager, Josef Zinnbauer. ‘In Hamburg, the team has a very young coach and their target for this season is to avoid the relegation from Bundesliga. This also had an impact [on my decision to join Arsenal].’
‘Yes, Zinnbauer [Hamburg manager] assured me that in the new season he would be putting emphasis on the young players, but such plans could be risky. Things may go the wrong way.’ Hamburg’s status as a Bundesliga club is very much in question, too, as they linger in the relegation zone. Bielik hasn’t chosen the easy route to first-team football, a testament to his ambition, and he knows it. ‘Certainly it will be harder for me to get through [to the first-team] at Arsenal. But if I succeed in three or four years, I will be at the footballing top. After all, this is one of the best clubs in Europe and certainly better than Hamburg.’
Bielik seems a stern character, that much is obvious from his refreshingly honest reasons for choosing Arsenal over one of Germany’s finest clubs. It is also obvious in how he forced his way into Henning Berg’s Legia Warszaw squad at just sixteen-years-old. But the gulf between Poland’s Ekstraklasa and England’s Premier League is significant, but it is also a “dream,” as Bielik outlines. Again, his ambitious yet circumspect mentality is evident. ‘I’m going to London to fulfill my dreams. I want to prove to the manager that he did not make a mistake by signing me. But it does not mean that my goal is playing in the first team right away. I’m not ready yet.’
He most certainly isn’t ready yet, a criticism which has been levelled at Wenger by some who wonder why we’re looking to the future instead of the present in a position where the present is practically in the past with Arteta’s age, Flamini’s ineptness and Coquelin’s gallant but rash attempts of filling the void. But why should we forget the future for the present? Both the present and the future aren’t mutually exclusive and nor should they be. We must assume that Arsenal are working towards enhancing the present and we can’t make a definitive judgement until the window has closed and any dealings are done.
While Bielik seems a self-assured man, he’s also a scarily young one (he was born in 1998!), and it is not a surprise to see him admit to being nervous about his soon-to-be confirmed transfer to Arsenal Football Club, ‘one of the best clubs in Europe.’ ‘Only a fool would not be [nervous]. Of course I am [nervous]. [It’s] nothing major. I believe in my skills, but I’m going to a new place, a big club and I do not really know what to expect. There will certainly be ups and downs. But I already experienced some of them despite my young age.’
It will certainly be interesting to follow Bielik’s integration into Arsenal. It has been reported that he will be a part of Arsène Wenger’s first-team squad on a daily basis, training alongside Alexis Sánchez, Aaron Ramsey and compatriot Wojciech Szczęsny. In all likelihood, unless his training performance impress ‘the boss’ greatly, Bielik will play for the under-21 and under-19 sides while he adapts to English football. We shouldn’t lose ourselves in the extensive media coverage – he is just seventeeen-years-old…
