Thursday 6 October 2016 11:40, UK
Last season was a breakthrough campaign for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez.
The 21-year-old Spain international became a first-team regular at the Vicente Calderon and quickly marked himself out as a key asset to Diego Simeone.
Atleti were runners-up in the Champions League last term - narrowly losing out on penalties to bitter rivals Real Madrid - and Saul was vital in guiding Los Colchoneros to their second final in three seasons having scored a sublime solo goal against Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich in the semi-final.
The versatile, all-round midfielder is now being linked with Arsenal, with the Gunners reportedly eyeing further reinforcements after their £80m summer spending spree.
The Football Whispers Index currently gives Saul's potential move to the Emirates a score of 1.1 out of five, which suggests any such deal is far from certain. But the fact that this one has crept up from a zero rating a couple of days ago means momentum could be building.
Saul was a prospect of note within the Atletico Madrid academy for several years before his first-team debut in a Europa League fixture against Besiktas as a 17-year-old in 2012.
The Elche-born midfielder moved to Madrid to initially join Real Madrid's academy in 2006, before moving across the capital to sign for Atleti in 2008. The youngster, who has represented his country at all youth levels, became a regular for Atleti's B team B team in 2010.
A 2013/14 loan spell with Rayo Vallecano saw Saul hone his skills by playing predominantly as a centre-back, developing the kind of appreciation for the defensive side of the game that has served him so well in Simeone's ultra-disciplined system.
Saul's accelerated progression to first-team regular was largely due to the misfortune of a team-mate. Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes was ruled out with a broken leg for most of last season, freeing up a berth which was soon claimed by the Spaniard.
Also key to Saul's ever presence in the side was his versatility. Although he has played mostly right of Atletico's midfield four, he is equally adept at playing on the other flank, or centrally as either a deep-lying pivot or a more advanced attacking midfielder.
With such versatility and a remarkably broad skill set for one so young, it's easy to see why Arsenal would be interested.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger bolstered his midfield options this summer with the £30m capture of combative midfielder Granit Xhaka, who arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach in May.
The north Londoners were also linked to moves for wide men, with French newspaper L'Equipe claiming a bid had been lodged for Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez, as well as the yearly links to Julian Draxler in the German media.
Despite this, such moves did not materialised. Could Wenger have been keeping his cash aside with a swoop for Saul in mind? If so, the Atleti man would likely find himself competing for places with a couple of English players whose development seems to have stalled of late.
Former Southampton pair Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are the players who would be most threatened by the potential arrival of Saul, as Alexis Sanchez has taken up a more central role this season while record signing Mesut Ozil is among the first names on the team sheet at the Emirates.
Let's see how Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain stack up when compared to the one-cap Spain international.
Theo Walcott
When isolating the players' statistical performance over the last three seasons, some interesting trends appear. Walcott's directness is shown by the fact that he has netted 13 goals - five more than Saul - despite having only played 2449 minutes of football to the Spaniard's 3897.
The England attacker also boasts better shot accuracy, with 64 per cent of his efforts finding the target to Saul's 55 per cent, as well as a higher rate of take-on success.
But Saul's skills begin to show their merit when analysing his creativity. He has created 32 chances for team-mates compared with Walcott's 29, and has laid on five assists -- one more than the Englishman.
And the fact Saul's attacking stats are even comparable to Walcott's is made all the more impressive when considering his time spent playing in defence, where his offensive influence would have been greatly diminished.
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Like Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain has also featured in fewer first-team minutes than Saul over the last three seasons, with 2686. Even so, the Ox's attacking productivity has left a lot to be desired, with just three goals - five fewer than Saul - and only a single assist.
His shot accuracy is also below the standard of the man he may find himself competing for places with, as only 36 per cent of Oxlade-Chamberlain's strikes have worked the opposition goalkeeper.
Where the 23-year-old shines, though, is through his dribbling ability. An impressive 64 per cent of Oxlade-Chamberlain's take-ons have seen him getting the better of his opponent - a figure which puts him ahead of both Saul and Walcott.
Surprisingly, the 24-cap England international also has a higher pass-completion rate than Saul, with 79 per cent - while Walcott betters both men with an 82 per cent pass accuracy.
Saul plays the wide midfield role in a vastly different way to either Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Atleti star is not blessed with the kind of pace that the England pair can call upon.
But what he lacks in raw speed he makes up for with tactical responsibility, creativity, and the intangible attribute of big-game temperament, having consistently performed to a high standard in Madrid derbies, clashes with Barcelona and in the latter rounds of the Champions League.
His ability to play anywhere across the midfield will also be an asset that has caught Wenger's eye, as well as his physicality, standing a hair over six foot.
If Arsenal do decide to make a move for Saul, he will not come cheap. In May, he penned a new contract at the Vicente Calderon, committing his future to Atletico until 2021 and bumping his buyout clause up to €80m (£70.3m).
