Arsenal journalist Charles Watts is not "losing sleep" over the Gunners missing out on the signature of talented Rosenborg midfielder Sverre Nypan, but he has conceded that the North London giants could be better at acquiring young talents.
Eighteen-year-old Norwegian starlet Nypan - who has inevitably been compared to Gunners captain Martin Odegaard - was thought to have been on the radar of Arsenal and a plethora of other top teams after bursting onto the scene in his homeland.
However, it was reported earlier this week that Aston Villa are now working to conclude a deal for the 2006-born starlet, as ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery poaches one of the Gunners' reported targets from under their noses.
Nevertheless, Watts does not believe that Arsenal will live to regret letting Nypan slip through the net, telling Sports Mole: "I just haven't seen enough of him to be really emotionally invested that much. He's a young kid, clearly very talented. You don't have the clubs who are chasing him if you're not a very talented young teenager. But I wouldn't be overly disappointed.
"Fair play to him. He gets to choose, and he's spent a lot of time doing it. He's not rushed into a decision. He didn't rush into it in January when he could have made a move to any of the clubs that are after him. Arsenal, Girona, City Football Group and Aston Villa at the time.
"He sees a better pathway at Aston Villa, maybe, than any other club to continue his development. If he doesn't come in, would he have made a huge impact next season? I guess we'll find out.
Watts not "losing any sleep" over failed Nypan move
"He plays at Aston Villa, but you can't really look at him and think he was going to play that many minutes for Arsenal next season. It would have been an exciting signing, no doubt about it. You want to get the best young talent, but it's not one I'll be losing any sleep over."
Arsenal have long prided themselves on turning either their own Hale End proteges or foreign starlets from elsewhere into the stars of tomorrow, nurturing the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie to become world-class players in their prime.
This season, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri's rapid rises to fame have demonstrated that there is a pathway to the first team for extremely talented teenagers, but Arsenal seldom bring in the most coveted under-20 players across the globe.
Chelsea are leading the way in that regard, winning the races for the likes of Geovany Quenda, Dario Essugo and Estevao Willian among others, and Watts has said that Arsenal are aware of their shortcomings in the same area.
"The club are aware of it," he added. "It's something in the last couple of years they have put a lot of effort into trying to improve. We haven't really seen that pay off yet. But they are pushing for a lot of these young talents, both here and potentially abroad, as we saw with Nypan.
Arsenal "very aware" of youth-related shortcomings in transfer market
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"They got Tommy Setford in from Ajax, which I think they were quite happy with as a starting point. But I think they're very aware that is an area that they need to improve on. And I think it's an area we'll continue to see them focus on over the next few years."
While Nypan has naturally been labelled an Odegaard 2.0, the 18-year-old is more of a number eight, box-to-box midfielder as opposed to a number 10, and Arsenal are not short of left eight options at present.
The indomitable Declan Rice has made that position his own since arriving from West Ham United, while Mikel Merino - who has also done well as an emergency striker - was effective in that role during the weekend's 4-0 battering of Ipswich Town.
Arteta also has the Lewis-Skelly card to play in the engine room, as the 18-year-old came through the youth system as a midfielder before unexpectedly excelling at left-back, albeit an inverted left-back as opposed to one who thrives on the overlap.
Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn recently talked up the prospect of Lewis-Skelly moving back to midfield, but Watts sees no need to alter a winning formula at present, as in his view, there is not a better left-back in the country than the Hale End graduate at present.
'Lewis-Skelly is the best left-back in England right now'
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"I can see him playing there because he's such a wonderful footballer," he said. "That has been his position for a long, long time. He's only been moved to left back relatively recently. But then you just look at what he's doing at left back, the performances he's putting in, and you think, why would you move him?
"He's genuinely I think the best left back in the country at the moment. Just the levels of performances that he is producing week in, week out, no matter who he is playing against. It is genuinely remarkable. So why would you move him? I don't really know why you would, because he's doing everything you need and more from that left back role.
"He's not playing as an out and out left back anyway - he's in midfield more often than he is in the left back position. I see what Nigel's saying, and I've said it before as well. You feel like naturally, because he's played his whole career as a central midfielder, he would eventually go back there.
"And maybe he's just starting out at left back as he adjusts to the demands of Premier League football. He's not going to push Declan Rice out of the left eight role. Merino will come back into that position potentially when Arsenal have a striker.
"Kai Havertz was signed to play in that position. And if Arsenal sign a striker, Kai Havertz is going to need to be in the team at some point in some areas. You'd imagine that's an area that Arteta will look to get him some minutes. So I don't see Lewis-Skelly being rushed into that role. I think Arsenal are so happy with what he's doing at left back, there's just no real rush to change things."
Watts also gave his take on Bayern Munich attacker Kingsley Coman potentially moving to Arsenal, as the Gunners seek out a new left-winger, goalkeeper, striker and number six during what is shaping up to be a frenetic summer of spending.
Ben Knapton
