Arsenal’s season is rapidly deteriorating.
Mikel Arteta’s team aimed to win the Premier League for the third time. However, after losing their first four games, this goal seemed unattainable.
Arsenal’s defense has been weak, conceding 41% of their goals from previous year. Additionally, their offensive has been unimpressive, with six teams presently outscoring them.
In short, things aren’t looking great, but as we all know, the right players can make all the difference. According to recent sources, the club may be set to land one of the most potent strikers in world football to challenge Kai Havertz, and no, it’s not Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from Turkish newspaper Sabah via the Daily Cannon, Arsenal have made contact with Napoli over the potential signing of striker Victor Osimhen.
According to the source, numerous clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, and Al Hilal, have communicated with the Italian giants regarding the Nigerian’s availability next year.
While interest from so many top clubs is far from ideal, the good news is that, according to the story, Fenerbahçe’s Sporting Director was quoted a price of €75 million – £63 million – by the Neapolitan’s own Sporting Director, Giovanni Manna, for the sensational forward, and that the Serie A side will sit at the table with the club that offers €25 million upfront, which is approximately £21 million.
This transfer would still represent a significant investment from Arsenal, but given Osimhen’s form of late and the club’s need for a proven goalscorer, one well worth making, even if it’s bad news for Havertz and ends the chance of signing Gyokeres as well.
How Osimhen compares to Havertz
Okay, so before we get to why Osimhen would be an upgrade on the Gunners’ current starting striker, let’s look at one of the key reasons why he may well be a smarter signing than the other forward heavily touted for a move to the Emirates during the summer, Gyokeres.
Now that both players have demonstrated their ability to score goals in recent seasons, the Napoli ace has a significant advantage over the Swede in experience.
Unlike the former Coventry City star, he has proven himself capable of playing in a top-five league, not to mention leading a sleeping giant to their first league title in decades – does this sound familiar?
The Sporting CP star may be able to achieve the same, but until we see it, there will always be some skepticism, uncertainty that does not hang over Nigeria’s phenomena.
How does the “world-class” marksman, called by José Mourinho, compare to Havertz? Unfortunately for the former Chelsea star, the match isn’t especially close.
Since the start of the 22/23 season, the Serie A winner has scored 56 goals and supplied 13 assists in 80 club appearances, resulting in an impressive goal involvement rate of 1.15 per game.
In contrast, the North Londoners’ midfielder-turned-centre-forward has struck the back of the net 30 times and contributed nine assists in 115 appearances, amounting to an average of one goal per 2.94 games.
In 32 appearances as a striker for Arteta’s team, the German scored 13 goals and eight assists, resulting in a goal involvement rate of 1.52 per game, which is below average.
Ultimately, if Arsenal want to win the league this season or next, they will need to find a truly elite centre-forward to lead the line, and while Havertz has been a useful player for them and may continue to be in the future, he is significantly less effective in front of goal than Osimhen.