Aleksandar Mitrovic: Prodigious Serbian talent out of British radar

The 18-year old Serbian international was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates stadium in June before Arsene Wenger chose to explore his trusted homeland for the signature of 20-year old Yaya Sanogo. Yet, Aleksandar Mitrovic has made a few of Europe’s hawkish scouts sit up and follow Partizan Belgrade in a bid to bring another talented raw product of the seemingly unlimited Balkan football factory to the greener pastures of Western and Southern Europe.

Immensely talented with a great physique and a god gifted eye for goals, the 6ft 3in striker has literally taken the Serbian Superleague by storm scoring 23 goals in 36 appearances for the Belgrade side last season.

Things were moving really fast with reports from Serbia and England even suggesting that a deal had been put in place and Arsene Wenger would bolster his current squad by looking at the future and Mitrovic, it seemed, was his priority signing for sometime. It is not clear whether due to Partizan’s persistence of keeping their prized asset at home for another year or the fan pressure at the Emirates have forced Arsene Wenger to utilize the money for a future marquee signing rather than sign an untested youngster, one thing is for sure Yaya Sanogo’s signing was not of utmost priority in terms of how Mitrovic is rated by the French manager.

Having been linked with a host of high profile clubs across Europe other than Arsenal, most notably Ajax and PSV, Partizan President Dragan Duric had made it clear in June that the former Serbian U-21 international will not be sold this summer at any cost. That’s how indispensable the player is to Partizan and Serbian football as a whole. His physical aspects and playing style have being likened to that of Niclas Bendtner, but if anyone watches the teenaged footballer’s video he is a far better talent compared to the Dane.

If Arsenal can afford to keep players like Marouane Chamakh, Niclas Bendtner or Park Chu-Young for so long, Aleksandar Mitrovic’s signing would not have been questioned in terms of the raw talent on hand. Capped once for the senior Serbia side by Sinisa Mihajlovic in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers against Belgium, Aleksandar Mitrovic is intimidating physically yet with such a tall physique he has some wonderful ball skills in addition to being a significant aerial threat.

Built like a bull the prodigious talent from Smederevo can take on defenders on his own and can even connect with his wingers and attacking midfielders giving a sense of versatility to the player’s game. When Arsenal poured cold water to a possible bargain buy it was more intriguing to see no other Premier League side went for Mitrovic till date although there is sure to be interest in the player from many angles in the near future.

Is there any future deal in place to bring the striker to the Emirates in the January transfer window after he has gained valuable experience with Partizan for one more season? This question arises because Arsene Wenger acknowledges the 18-year old’s talent to be amongst Europe’s elite. If there is no future deal in place between Arsenal and Partizan, it is a matter of time top clubs from Italy, Germany and the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona would fight tirelessly for Mitrovic’s signature and Arsene Wenger, like so many times before, would be missing out on a gem who is sure to be a future star.

Signing him, as far as Arsenal are concerned, and then loaning him out to the lower league clubs of England might have been an intelligent buy and atleast for now Aleksandar Mitrovic is staying put in Serbia to take his skill, mental and professional abilities to new levels before plying his trade in the upper echelons of European football.