Another season gone, and another second-place finish in the Premier League for Arsenal.
In their defence, Mikel Arteta’s side have had to deal with a seemingly never-ending stream of injuries this term, but even then, it’s undeniably disappointing to fail to win the title at the third time of asking.
Moreover, instead of losing to Manchester City, Liverpool comfortably beat the Gunners this time, with Mohammed Salah stepping up and taking Erling Haaland’s crown as the most dangerous attacker in the league.
1
Salah
Liverpool
37
28
2
Isak
Newcastle
33
23
3
Haaland
Man City
29
21
4
Wood
Forest
35
20
5
Mbeumo
Brentford
37
19
5
Wissa
Brentford
34
19
Unfortunately, outside of maybe Bukayo Saka, the North Londoners don’t really have a forward player capable of racking up as many goals as those two, although that could be about to change, as, based on recent reports, the club are looking to sign a goalscoring phenomenon who could be their own Haaland.
Arsenal's striker search
Before we get to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other strikers who have been liked with Arsenal in recent weeks, such as Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro.
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The former could reportedly now cost up to £75m due to his release clause increasing, but considering he’s scored 21 goals and provided six assists in 45 games at just 21 years old, he may well be worth it.
Pedro’s price tag of up to £100m might not be, as while he is talented, a tally of ten goals and six assists in 27 games isn’t exactly game-breaking.
Moreover, if the club are going to sign their own Haaland, they need an unbelievably prolific striker, someone like Viktor Gyokeres.
According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal have maintained their intense interest in the Swedish striker and are now ‘prepared to make a serious effort’ to get a deal over the line.
The report has revealed that the Gunners are currently leading the race to sign the Sporting CP ace and have already offered him a long-term contract until 2030 worth up to £10m a year, or around £192k-per-week.
Moreover, the report claims that the North Londoners are hopeful of getting their man for a fee of around €70m, which is about £59m.
It will be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Gyokeres’ immense ability, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he could be Arsenal’s own Haaland.
How Gyokeres would be Arsenal's Haaland
So, if Arsenal can get ahead of the other interested parties and bring Gyokeres to the club this summer, why could he turn into their own Haaland?
Well, by their own version of the Norwegian goal machine, we simply mean an attacker who is such a tour de force up top that he becomes a talisman and someone who can be the difference between winning it all and falling short.
For example, even though he’s been injured for large parts of the season, the Manchester City star has still scored 30 goals and provided four assists, while last season, he racked up 38 goals and seven assists, while he managed an astounding 52 goals and nine assists in the Sky Blues’ treble-winning 22/23 campaign.
Now, we aren’t saying that the Sporting CP “monster,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, is going to quite hit those numbers for the North Londoners next year, but based on his performances in Portugal, he could still be a huge source of goals for them.
For example, in his first season in Lisbon, the 23-year-old “powerhouse,” as dubbed by Mattinson, scored 43 goals and provided 15 assists in 50 appearances, totalling 4169 minutes, which comes out to an average of 1.16 goal involvements every game, or one every 71.87 minutes.
He has somehow been even better this season, scoring 53 goals and providing 13 assists in 51 appearances, totalling 4128 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.29 games, or every 62.54 minutes.
Add to those numbers the fact he’s also managed to score 15 goals and provided six assists in 26 national team appearances, and it’s impossible to deny the fact that he’s a striker of the highest calibre and stands every chance of having a similar impact on Arteta’s side that Haaland has had on Pep’s.
1
Gyokeres
33
39
1.18
2
Mbappe
33
29
0.88
3
Salah
37
28
0.76
4
Kane
31
26
0.84
5
Lewandowski
33
25
0.71
Therefore, while it won’t be cheap, Arsenal should do all they can to sign Gyokeres this summer, as he could be the difference between finishing second again next year and finally getting over the line.
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