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Ex-Arsenal winger Donyell Malen nets five goals in one game for PSV

Jay Williams

Sun 15 September 2019 9:45, UK

Arsenal decided to sell Donyell Malen to PSV Eindhoven in 2017. And as he continues to shine in the Eredivisie, this is looking like a mistake. The young winger is thriving in an important first-team role at PSV.

Malen’s recent performance has exposed Arsenal’s 2017 error. The Gunners let Malen join PSV in 2017 despite his fine form for the academy team. He left without a first-team appearance to his name but he is proving Arsenal wrong now.

Malen nets five

Malen’s latest performance indicates just how talented he is. The 20-year-old scored all five goals as PSV won 5-0 against Vitesse in the Eredivisie. This is an eye-catching performance that will certainly get a few Arsenal fans groaning.

Despite his young age, Malen is already a first-team star for one of Holland’s biggest teams. The lively winger now has 20 goals and nine assists in 58 games for PSV. He is set for a bright future.

Another Gnabry?

Arsenal could have made an error letting Malen go. And this would bring back nightmares of Serge Gnabry’s departure. The midfielder was sold to Werder Bremen in 2016 and he is now a star for Bayern Munich and Germany.

The Gunners already regret letting the 24-year-old leave before he fulfiled his potential. Arsenal could have had both Gnabry and Malen in their first-team now – but that is no longer possible.

Transfer fee rocketing

Another downside to Arsenal letting Malen leave before he fulfilled his potential is the financial hit. The twice-capped Netherlands international was just a youth team player when he joined PSV for an undisclosed fee in 2017.

In two years, he has established himself in the first-team and he will be worth a lot more. Arsenal could miss out on a large financial sum when PSV eventually sell their star man.