Aleksandar Mitrović

[Sydney Gooner]

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehardtackle.com/2013/arsenal-transfer-news-aleksandar-mitrovic/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thehardtackle.com/2013/arsen ... -mitrovic/</a>

While he is not of the established big name signing that the Gooners were expecting from the club, Mitrovic could become the highly talented youngster to sign for Arsenal in this summer, after the club has reportedly reached an agreement with Yaya Sanogo and are believed to closing in on Aston Villa youngster Dan Crowley.

Aleksandar Mitrovic is a Partizan youth academy product and has been at the club since the age of 11. After spending four years in the youth set-up, he played for Partizan affiliated club Teleoptik in the 2011-12 season. His talent caught everyone’s attention in Serbia and he made his debut for the Serbian U-19 side in the same season. The last season he played for his parent club Partizan and scored 10 goals in 25 appearances (in the league) for the team, as Belgrade club won the league by a comfortable margin.

Mitrovic also made his debut in the Europa league this season as Partizan were knocked out in the group stages. But Mitrovic did leave his mark in the final game of group H as he scored his first Europa League goal in drew level for his club against FK Neftchi, although he also got a red card in the second half of the match (after coming on as a substitute). Sinisa Mihajlovic (Serbian coach) said this about Mitrovic few days back, before the qualifier match against Belgium –

“The lad has earned his first cap but I have yet to decide whether he will start against Belgium or if he will play any part at all.
“He is young, brave, talented and has a killer instinct akin to top strikers, hence he might be the ultimate solution to our problems up front and I think he is the best striker we have”

According to reports back in Serbia and in Sky Italia, Arsenal have closed in on the young striker and the signing could be made official within a week. Sky Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reported this news, although it is yet to be confirmed by either of the clubs.

“One of the best young players in Europe. called Aleksandar Mitrovic and who scored 15 goals last season. was born in 1994, played for Partizan Belgrade, along with Lazar Markovic. Arsenal are expected to completed the move next week” – Gianluca di Marcio wrote.

Mitrovic made it to the team of the year in SuperLiga and will be another good addition to the Arsenal squad. Although it is unlikely that Wenger is signing him to be part of the first team squad next season. The London club has released a lot of their young players from the reserve team in the last two weeks, so the likes of Sanogo and Mitrovic are likely to be part of the Arsenal’s youth set-up now. But in few years’ time, Mitrovic might very well become a house hold name, considering his talent.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/aleksandar-mitrovic/profil/spieler_51152.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/aleks ... 51152.html</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Mitrovi%C4%87_(footballer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar ... footballer</a>)

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.whoscored.com/Players/115279/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.whoscored.com/Players/115279/</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dk-7yOZWBM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dk-7yOZWBM</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpC0T0Awhd8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpC0T0Awhd8</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBD4BUP4aWM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBD4BUP4aWM</a>

 

[Bigbludfire]

Partizan have a very nice academy and he sounds promising based on those reports. However his signing and Sanogo makes me want question whether we're signing a proper striker already

 

[kofigunner]

Says something if Mihajlovic gives you such a glowing report at age 18 and he is in the plans for a country that is ranked 40th(currently) in the Fifa world rankings and has a history of producing pretty decent talent. Sounds well worth the punt.

 

[leo_ense]

Partizan have a very nice academy and he sounds promising based on those reports. However his signing and Sanogo makes me want question whether we're signing a proper striker already

This is the concern imo. Its possible Wenger will decide against a new striker if he has these two youngsters plus his current squad as options.

 

[dpt49]

Partizan have a very nice academy and he sounds promising based on those reports. However his signing and Sanogo makes me want question whether we're signing a proper striker already

I agree.
We need two strikers as well as Giroud, I just hope at least one of them is world class.
Surely we are aiming higher than this?

 

[tap-in]

Funny how Geoff didnt know about this, makes me wonder if there is any truth in it

 

[kofigunner]

That's the thing about transfer rumours...you never know. Some might have legs but we'll never know till Wenger writes his "tell all" book.

 

[tap-in]

That's the thing about transfer rumours...you never know. Some might have legs but we'll never know till Wenger writes his "tell all" book.

I wonder if Geoff has plans for a book. that would create a bit of a dilemma for book stores, would they put it in the Non-Fiction or Fiction section

 

[jmsmtthw28]

Did Mitrovic become available and we swooped in or did we want to sign 2 young strikers this summers?
Maybe Sanogo will go on loan in France (Lorient already want him) with Mitrovic spending time with the U21 and maybe the first team

If he's a "wonderkid" then I have no problem with this signing, he looks like a clinical striker and has a pretty good physique on him

 

[GDeep™]

You need 4 strikers, especially at clubs who compete deep into most competitions like we do, so Mitrovic/Sanogo + Giroud still leaves us at 3 and gives us room for another striker.

Also, lets be honest, Podolski is one of the worst CF's I have ever seen at Arsenal, when he's played there.

 

[fabo]

He'll just bolster the reserves which have failed to produce strikers recently. No bearing on the senior side as there are at least 4 players who Wenger would pick at CF before an 18 year old, regardless of how many competitions we're involved in.

 

[GG8]

Both Under-21 and we recently went through a purge of our youth set-up, I wouldnt read too much into these signings if true.

We need to replenish our books, and we also need to continue looking towards the future as well as the here and now.

Im going to (TRY) give it 6-7 weeks before I start getting worried about our first team transfers.

 

[Sydney Gooner]

You need 4 strikers, especially at clubs who compete deep into most competitions like we do, so Mitrovic/Sanogo + Giroud still leaves us at 3 and gives us room for another striker.

Also, lets be honest, Podolski is one of the worst CF's I have ever seen at Arsenal, when he's played there.

Am I the only one that thinks G comes across as a troll when he says things like this? I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or if he genuinely believes some of the things he posts.

 

[musicmonkey]

Both Under-21 and we recently went through a purge of our youth set-up, I wouldnt read too much into these signings if true.

We need to replenish our books, and we also need to continue looking towards the future as well as the here and now.

Im going to (TRY) give it 6-7 weeks before I start getting worried about our first team transfers.

This, there was also a rumour that Wenger's considering sending Sanogo out on loan depending on performances in the pre-season games so i don't think these players have much of a bearing on the first team or our purchases for the first team.

Is Sanogo tied up yet? Weird it's not been announced yet officially. Given the half a million pound signing of a young striker hasn't even been concluded and announced then we've still got a while until we need to worry about first team players coming in.

 

[Therapy Inc]

I don't see how this guy is anymore promising than Akpom. He looks incredibly raw with very little technical quality. I'll give it to him, he can definitely head the ball well.

 

[MutableEarth]

I don't see how this guy is anymore promising than Akpom. He looks incredibly raw with very little technical quality. I'll give it to him, he can definitely head the ball well.

I'm curious to know how all of this affects him [Akpom]. From what I've seen, he is very promising and I thought he would be given more chances.

 

[kofigunner]

He'll just bolster the reserves which have failed to produce strikers recently. No bearing on the senior side as there are at least 4 players who Wenger would pick at CF before an 18 year old, regardless of how many competitions we're involved in.

He'll probably be a bit more than that I think. Here's an 18 year old who has CL qualifying and Europa experience as well as being the main striker for his club. Plus he has earned a call up to his national team. So if he is really that good, I could see him getting a few games here and there given all our competitions. The only other striker we have similar to him physique and stature wise is Giroud. I'm not saying he'll necessarily be an integral part of the team but he's probably more than squad fodder.

 

[kofigunner]

I don't see how this guy is anymore promising than Akpom. He looks incredibly raw with very little technical quality. I'll give it to him, he can definitely head the ball well.

I'm curious to know how all of this affects him [Akpom]. From what I've seen, he is very promising and I thought he would be given more chances.

True, and that's exactly what we need, competition among the younger players. Akpom really has no equal among younger strikers and this should push him to higher heights. You can never tell with younger players, we could have a hall of fame of 'promising' starlets from Arturo Lupoli to Fran Merida to Quincy to Jay Emmanuel Thomas, who tore it up at the young level but never really made it at the senior level and not due to chances since they have moved on and still never made a spash. Having a more 'established' player like Mitrović around could help Akpom get more serious about making it.

 

[MutableEarth]

I don't see how this guy is anymore promising than Akpom. He looks incredibly raw with very little technical quality. I'll give it to him, he can definitely head the ball well.

I'm curious to know how all of this affects him [Akpom]. From what I've seen, he is very promising and I thought he would be given more chances.

True, and that's exactly what we need, competition among the younger players. Akpom really has no equal among younger strikers and this should push him to higher heights. You can never tell with younger players, we could have a hall of fame of 'promising' starlets from Arturo Lupoli to Fran Merida to Quincy to Jay Emmanuel Thomas, who tore it up at the young level but never really made it at the senior level and not due to chances since they have moved on and still never made a spash. Having a more 'established' player like Mitrović around could help Akpom get more serious about making it.

Lets hope so. He is my favorite player at that level and his skillset could prove to be vital. I hope he makes it.

 

[Bigbludfire]

Partizan have a very nice academy and he sounds promising based on those reports. However his signing and Sanogo makes me want question whether we're signing a proper striker already

This is the concern imo. Its possible Wenger will decide against a new striker if he has these two youngsters plus his current squad as options.

Yeah I'm guessing it'll be Mitrovic for the reserves and Sanogo on our bench to be honest. I'm actually expecting it