The clamour for Mikel Arteta to break the bank and sign a striker has understandably subsided considering the boat-load of goals Arsenal have scored since the winter break.
Even without their preferred No 9 option, Gabriel Jesus, the Gunners have netted an impressive 25 goals in six games and, following their 4-1 win over Newcastle, they broke one of the most obscure records in around.
Jakub Kiwior’s 69th-minute goal at the Emirates meant Arsenal became the first Premier League team to net at least twice in seven consecutive halves of football.
Still, Arteta’s side find themselves in third place, albeit only two points off the top, and they will inevitably rue costly defeats to West Ham and Aston Villa if they are unable to win their first top-flight title in 20 years.
The likes of Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney have been linked with the club, while a former Championship star has been the latest rumoured target. What are the options for Arsenal this summer and who would be the best fit?
Toney is all but guaranteed to leave Brentford this summer, only question is where he will end up. The same is true to Osimhen, who signed a contract extension with Napoli in December which included a release clause believed to be in the region of £104million-£113m.
Osimhen is in the fourth percentile for passes attempted compared to strikers in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, with just 14.24 per 90. By contrast, Toney ranks in the 71st percentile with 24.59 and Jesus is up in the 92nd percentile with 30.98.
Of course, the Brazilian is the only one of those three actually playing for a possession-based Arsenal so you\’d expect the raw numbers of Osimhen to increase if he was brought in but it is clear it is not his strength.
Pass completion, progressive passes and assists paint a similar picture but the 25-year-old shines is his penetrative runs into the penalty area. Very few can match his 7.14 touches in the box per 90.
Bologna youngster Joshua Zirkzee looks to have the ingredients to seamlessly fit into Arteta\’s team. The Dutchman spent three seasons at Bayern Munich before moving to Bologna for £7m last summer.
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In Italy, Zirkzee has nine goals and four assists in 25 league game for the side shocking Serie A by competing with Atalanta, Roma and Fiorentina for Champions League qualification.
Most interesting about the 22-year-old is his habit of dropping deep and how involved he is in general play. Thiago Motta has largely opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation this term which sees Zirkzee as the lone striker.
Zirkzee’s rather unorthodox path from Munich to Parma to Anderlecht and then over to Bologna is made to look serene when compared to Viktor Gyokeres. The 25-year-old spent three years at Brighton without ever playing a league game and was instead loaned out to St Pauli, Swansea City and most notably Coventry City before signing permanently for the club in 2023.
His performances in the Championship remarkably caught the eye of Sporting Lisbon, who shelled out more than £20m to sign him last summer. Now that price looks a pittance.
Gyokeres has found the net 30 times and provided 11 assists in all competitions for Ruben Amorim\’s side, including 17 in 21 Portuguese top-flight games.
Much like Zirkzee, Gyokeres is often not the furthest Sporting player forward, instead he takes up dangerous spaces between the defence and midfield. This is shown in the numbers, where the Swedish international excels in build up and chance creation.
Having only just signed for the Portuguese outfit, it is likely to take the kind of money required to bring Toney to the Emirates to get Gyokeres\’ addition over the line.
A lot will depend on how Arsenal finish this season. A Premier League and Champions League double would breath renewed confidence in this team and might persuade the club to be more conservative in the market.
Failure to get their hands on any silverware and expect to see the side breaking the bank just as they so extravagantly did last summer.