The European Championships may be in full swing, but Edu Gaspar and the Arsenal recruitment team have no time to rest with the transfer window now officially open.
The Gunners have become shrewd operators in the market over recent years, with Mikel Arteta welcoming stars such as Martin Odegaard, Decland Rice and Kai Havertz into the side and, based on recent reports, he could soon welcome one of the young stars from the Euros into his side.
The latest player touted for a move to the Emirates looks set to have a fantastic competition over the coming weeks and has even won favourable comparisons to a previous Gunners star, Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from French publication L'Equipe, Arsenal are one of several clubs keen on Paris Saint-Germain's Xavi Simons.
Alongside the Gunners, the report revealed that Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich have already made contact with the Parisian outfit and expressed their interest in the Dutch star.
Reports from Spain last month suggested that the French side would be willing to sell the former PSV ace for around €60m – around £51m – and while that's not cheap, it could prove value for money in the long run.
It won't be an easy deal to complete, but after his performances over the last two seasons, Arsenal should be doing all they can to bring Simons to N5, especially with comparisons to Ozil.
Why Simons would be a great signing and his Ozil comparisons
So, let's start with the similarities to one of Arsenal's last great playmakers, Ozil. The comparison stems from Squawka, who earlier this month described Simons as 'the next Mesut Ozil' when previewing the swathe of promising youngsters at this year's Euros.
The main reasons for this are his impressive passing numbers and ability to create chances for his teammates.
For example, his tally of 11 league assists was the joint-second-best haul in the Bundesliga last season, and FBref, which compares players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, places the youngster in the top 1% of midfielders for assists, expected assists, non-penalty expected goals and assists, shot-creating actions and progressive carries.
Moreover, like the former Gunners star, the 21-year-old looks set to play a pivotal creative role at the heart of a major European national team for years with the Netherlands.
Whether the PSG prospect, whom data analyst Ben Mattinson claimed is "destined For greatness", can go on to have a career as impressive as the German in red and white remains to be seen, but as things stand, he holds up well against several of the club's star players.
Appearances
32
35
35
34
Goals
8
8
16
12
Assists
11
10
9
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.59
0.51
0.71
0.38
Progressive Passes per 90
6.34
10.0
3.89
4.15
Progressive Carries per 90
5.12
2.65
4.78
3.61
Shot-Creating Actions per 90
5.97
6.41
5.80
3.55
Goal-Creating Actions per 90
0.75
0.67
0.65
0.33
For example, he averaged more goal involvements per league game than Martin Odegaard last season, more progressive passes and carries than Bukayo Saka per 90 and produced significantly more shot and goal-creating actions than Leandro Trossard per 90.
Ultimately, whether Simons can reach the levels of a peak Ozil in North London will be up for debate until it actually happens, but what is not up for debate is the Dutchman's quality.
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Therefore, Edu and Co should do all they can to bring the PSG gem to Arsenal as soon as possible, as an impressive showing at the Euros could make signing him even more difficult.