‘I would love to play for Arteta’: €35m USMNT star reveals Arsenal transfer dream

One player who is set to star at the 2026 World Cup this summer has admitted he would ‘love to play for Arsenal’ and believes he would suit Mikel Arteta’s team if he joined them.

The Gunners have historically built a reputation as a free-flowing, attacking side and they are one of the most widely-supported teams Premier League teams in the world, particularly in North America.

That has been emphasised by Bayer Leverkusen forward Malik Tillman, who was full of praise for Arsenal when asked which Premier League team he admired.

The attacking midfielder, who is likely to feature for the United States at the World Cup, also feels he would fit well into Arsenal’s ‘great system’ after being introduced to the Gunners by a former teammate.

“I don’t have a favourite team but if there was one club I would love to play for it’s Arsenal,” Tillman told B/R Football. “One thing is the way they play now. I think they have a great coach, they have a great system and I think I would fit into it.

“But there’s also one of my ex-teammates, he’s a big Arsenal fan so he got me into it as well. But yeah I just like the way they play.”

Tillman defends Arsenal critics over style of play

Despite playing for the USMNT, Tillman was born in Germany and began his senior career at Bayern Munich, while also spending a season on loan at Rangers.

However, Tillman had his breakout spell at Dutch side PSV before joining Leverkusen last summer for €35 million, where he has scored four times in 18 Bundesliga appearances.

When asked about some of the criticism surrounding Arsenal’s style of play this season, Tillman insisted that Arteta’s side were forced to adapt in the Premier League but they often showed their true philosophy in Europe instead.

“Obviously they score a lot of goals from set pieces but it’s also part of the game but yeah I think if you watch them in the Champions League it’s also a different style of playing,” Tillman said.

“The Premier League has also changed a little bit in the way teams play against them or play in general so obviously they had to adapt but if you watch the Champions League games, it’s a different Arsenal.”

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