Wednesday, 14th August, 2013

Arsenal will attempt to pick up the pieces from the failed Luis Suarez saga by targeting PSV Eindhoven duo Georginio Wijnaldum and Zakaria Bakkali.

Suarez has confirmed he is ready to pledge his future to Liverpool after months of transfer speculation, meaning the Gunners have to now look elsewhere.

 


But they are not short of choices as, according to Voetbal International, chief scout Peter Clarke made the trip to ADO Den Haag's ground on the Eredivisie's opening day.

It meant he was able to watch both PSV captain Wijnaldum and recently graduated Bakkali in action, with the former also grabbing a goal.

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Had Clarke stayed back for matchday two, it would have reinforced his and Arsenal's opinion further, especially over Bakkali whose life has taken a big turn in recent weeks.

The 17-year-old banged in a hat-trick on his home league debut for PSV against NEC, by which time he had already been drafted into Belgium's squad for today's friendly against France.

Wijnaldum also grabbed a brace in the 5-0 rout over NEC, while the 22-year-old still has two seasons left on his contract.

Wijnaldum represented Holland in this summer's European Under-21 Championship, where he scored twice in three games.

Bakkali, meanwhile, has been making steady progress through Belgium's youth ranks, culminating in senior coach Marc Wilmots giving him a call-up.

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