Former Arsenal starlet wins Eredivisie Player of the Month

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 14:54 BST
• 3 min read

Donyell Malen, who came through the Arsenal academy system but is now with PSV, has been named the Eredivisie Player of the Month for February.

Malen has emerged as one of the rising stars in the Netherlands over the course of the season, having joined PSV in 2017 after leaving the Gunners.

After failing to make the grade at the Emirates Stadium, he was sold to PSV having made his Arsenal debut in a friendly against Sydney in their 2017 pre-season tour of Australia and China.

Since then, he has excelled with PSV, where he has scored 22 goals in 38 games this season, not to mention seven assists. Such form has seen him capped nine times with the Netherlands and earn links to Milan and Borussia Dortmund, where he is touted as Jadon Sancho’s successor.

Malen’s form over the course of the last month has been particularly spectacular, though.

Donyell Malen’s form in February

OPPONENT	CONTRIBUTION
Twente (h)
Den Haag (a)
Vitesse (h)
Ajax (h)	–

Domestically, the month kicked off brilliantly for PSV as they eased to a 3-0 win over Twente – a match in which Malen scored twice.

They were eliminated from the KNVB Beker four days later but back on league duty he bagged a brace in a brilliant display against Den Haag.

Sandwiching the club’s Europa League elimination by Olympiacos, he was a substitute against Vitesse and came off the bench to get both a goal and an assist as he helped to transform a 1-0 half-time deficit into a 3-1 victory.

Only against Ajax on the final day of February did he fail to find the net in an Eredivisie match over the course of the month. His side still managed to secure a 1-1 draw, albeit one that badly damaged their hopes of catching the seemingly untouchable Amsterdam outfit at the top of the standings.

Malen is a player rapidly on the up – and it is not long until clubs of Arsenal’s standard are once again looking at the PSV starlet.