That did not deter Bayern Munich this summer of taking the risk and trying to rejuvenate the former youth star. Signing him at a discounted fee of €3 million, Bayern Munich figured they could take their time developing the youngster under the eyeful watch of their staff and eventually turning him into a replacement for Robert Lewandowski.
His new coach at Bayern Munich Niko Kovac, decided to take Arp with the team to their summer training camp in the United States. The plan at the time was to take Arp with the team and let him get a sense of their practice and methods, and then after arriving back in Germany at the conclusion of camp, to send him to their reserve team to continue his development.
For any young player getting an invite to the main teams training camp, the goal is to make a presence at training. Players who typically work hard earn playing time in summer friendlies after gaining trust from the coaches. That's exactly what Arp did. Earned himself starts in Bayern's first two games against Arsenal and Real Madrid, playing 45 minutes in both contests on the right wing, a position of weakness for Bayern Munich as they still are trying to find a way to buy Leroy Sane from Manchester City to fill that void. Winger isn't Arp's primary position, but he took whatever coach Kovac gave him.
After showing he belonged in the two games, playing with confidence, having good awareness and good pace bringing the ball up field, in a small sample size, Arp was showcasing himself to Kovac that he might be a steal signing of the summer for the German giants and a candidate to earn some real minutes sooner then later.
In the clubs third and final game before leaving the United States, Kovac gave Arp his big opportunity, against AC Milan. In his third consecutive start, but this time at his primary striker position, he got to play the full-90 minutes. Bayern won the game 1-0, and Arp did not score or have an assist on the goal, but he was still impressive. He once again showed his confidence with his dribbling skills that forced AC Milan to really focus on him, and his awareness that helped create offense and scoring chances. He was active throughout the game and never seemed over matched.
Basically, Arp during his short stint with the first team proved that he is good enough for this level. And now has forced Kovac to make a decision upon returning back to Munich with what he will do with the young forward. A good problem to have, but Arp seems to have earned himself a spot on this Bayern Munich squad and give Kovac depth for the bench or even as a starter at several different offensive positions. And more importantly, Arp showed that he could be the eventual successor for Lewandowski at Bayern Munich.
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