The huge carrot dangling in front of Arsenal's Jordi Osei-Tutu ahead of 11 pivotal games for Cardiff City
The Arsenal loanee started brightly for the Bluebirds, but an injury-hit few months has seen his season turn from promising to hugely frustrating
Thursday 11th March 2021
By Glen Williams
Arsenal loanee Jordi Osei-Tutu has returned to Cardiff City after his hamstring injury.
When Jordi Osei-Tutu arrived on loan from Arsenal, Cardiff City fans thought their right-back issues were a thing of the past.
Indeed, his first five performances in a Bluebirds shirt helped to confirm that initial thought as supporters immediately recognised his talents.
He played just seven games for City at the start of the season and while that is a relatively small sample size, he made quite the impression on fans in the Welsh capital.
His horrible hamstring injury, though, set City back. It shifted Leandro Bacuna to right-back and the team as a whole suffered. While we thought his injury might not be too bad, another setback in January put his return on the backburner for another two months.
Now, he has competition.
Perry Ng was signed from Crewe back in January and has hit the ground running. He has rendered himself virtually undroppable at the minute and, like Osei-Tutu just a few months back, has endeared himself to the fan base.
Cardiff, on the cusp of a battle for he play-off spots, have just 11 games left in this campaign. Osei-Tutu returned to the Welsh capital this week, however the levels of his fitness are as yet unknown.
But there is precious little time for Osei-Tutu to make an impact in the remaining few games of the season and he will doubtless want to do just that.
At 22, he is at a stage in his career whereby he must be thinking about what comes next.
Will he be in Mikel Arteta's plans at Arsenal next year? Or will he seek a move away, permanently or otherwise? If so, is there a possibility he could return to Cardiff this summer?
We asked Football.London's Arsenal writer Kaya Kaynak for his insight...
Q. What is the situation regarding right-backs at Arsenal? It looks as though Hector Bellerin could leave and they might be thin on the ground?
A. It seemed as though Arsenal only had two options at right-back, but with Calum Chambers starting in the position against Bunrley there now seems to have been a third. That's before you even consider Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who is currently out on loan at West Brom.
Hector Bellerin leaving is far from certain. Arsenal don't exactly want him to go, but if the right offer comes in for him they won't turn it down. Barcelona are the main club interested but with their financial trouble at the minute I'd be sceptical about their ability to afford Bellerin.
If he does leave though, the Gunners will have a decision to make in that position as they would potentially be short in terms of numbers.
Personally I would love to see Maitland-Niles take his opportunity and establish himself as a regular starter in the position, but he seems to have his heart set on playing in central midfield and will likely leave the club in the summer as a result.
Cedric is also an option there, and although he has played well when he's come into the side, he doesn't quite seem good enough to be a regular in Arteta's first team.
As for Chambers he again is probably not at the level Arsenal are looking for in a regular starting right-back so the Gunners could be looking to recruit come the summer.
But as I said it's all very up in the air at the moment.
Q. Arsenal have been linked with Tariq Lamptey, how likely is that, or a deal for another right-back, to happen? Or will they promote from within?
A. Tariq Lamptey is a player Arsenal have liked for a while now, but the fact that he is now out injured until the end of the season means they might want to wait before investing what will inevitably be a big transfer fee in the former Chelsea youngster.
It is also worth taking into account that if Brighton end up staying in the Premier League then Lamptey would probably be out of Arsenal's price range, given he's just signed a new contract with the Seagulls.
Achraf Hakimi of Inter Milan has been linked but again I would be amazed if Arsenal could afford him.
In terms of promoting from within, there are a few exciting prospects coming through the academy. Brooke Norton-Cuffy just signed a professional contract, while Karim Rekik who was brought in to the under-23s from Hertha Berlin in the summer can also play there. That said though, both are probably a bit too raw for regular first-team football.
Q. How is Jordi Osei-Tutu viewed at Arsenal? Is there a sense that he could make it there?
A. Jordi Osei-Tutu was highly thought of at Arsenal and still is in some circles, but he was never mentioned in the same breath as the likes Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson or any of the others who have been involved with the first team this season.
He came close to the first team in Arsene Wenger's last season, but never got much of a look in under Unai Emery and hasn't really been at the club since Mikel Arteta took over.
At the age of 22 there are some concerns that his ship may have sailed.
He did OK in his loan spell at Bochum under some trying circumstances, but nothing to demand that he become a regular start with the Gunners.
The hope was that he would be able to show himself at senior level in England with Cardiff this season, but injuries have unfortunately stopped him from really being able do so.
It's always nice to see academy graduates do well so there is a genuine hope that he can now sustain a level of fitness long enough to impress with the Bluebirds, but the jury is somewhat out on that front.
Q. What will his situation be this summer? Will Arsenal look to keep him or cut ties? And could Cardiff be in the running to sign him?
A. Arsenal last week announced a loss of £47.8m for 2019/20, which is only going to get bigger next year as the impact of Covid continues to hit home.
It's come at a particularly inconvenient time as the squad is in desperate need of some additions and with it not looking likely that they will make European football via the league this season, unless they win the Europa League money is going to be tight come the summer.
With this in mind they might look to sell Osei-Tutu as a way to raise some funds in a similar manner to what they did with Dominic Thompson, who is now at Brentford.
I would imagine Cardiff could definitely be in the running to sign him if they can afford to put in a bid that Arsenal deem acceptable as the clubs already have a good relationship from the loan move last summer.
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