Arsenal’s attack finds itself in a very interesting position this summer. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are untouchable in Mikel Arteta’s plans. Leandro Trossard looks like he will stay at the Emirates. Gabriel Jesus is also expected to stay, despite still not having convinced with his ability to score goals regularly.
There have been calls for the Gunners to sign a more natural goalscorer than Jesus. The Brazilian is valuable with what he brings to the team in terms of work rate but Arteta needs a striker who scores goals like Erling Haaland to mount a successful title challenge this time around. To do so, sacrifices will have to be made.
Eddie Nketiah on brink of Arsenal exit?
Eddie Nketiah’s future has seemed more outside the club than within. The young English striker looked very close to a move to Olympique Marseille where he would play under ex-Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi but the deal seemed to be stalling in the past few days as the French club had turned their attention to other targets.
However, it looks like the deal is back on the table, with the player’s agent currently in Marseille looking to negotiate an exit for his client. Playing under the Italian manager would be an exciting proposition for Nketiah, with the ex-Seagulls boss known for his patented attacking style of football.
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🚨 “From extremely reliable sources I can confirm once again that Nketiah’s agent is currently in Marseille.”
(@Adammser ) pic.twitter.com/yHl2nE6hyP
— Doc (@karthikadhaigal) August 9, 2024
Nketiah has an instinct to score goals – something that cannot be coached. Despite limitations in other facets of his game, the English forward’s ability to score goals makes him an exciting proposition for any coach. OM are looking to sign Youssoufa Moukoko from Dortmund and it’ll be interesting to see how the pair operate alongside each other.
But who arrives?
Arsenal have quite a few attacking targets in their mind. One player who they want to sign and has been placed on the transfer list at his current club is Federico Chiesa. He can play anywhere across the frontline, although he is more of a winger than a natural striker.
Signing someone like Chiesa would give Arteta a lot of options to work with in attack. It remains to be seen if the Gunners make a concrete move to sign the Euro 2020 star from Juventus this summer. The most enticing part of this transfer is that he could be available for an absolute bargain with Thiago Motta sidelining him from his plans.
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That might not be enough for the Gunners though. They might need to look at someone like Viktor Gyokeres this summer. The Swede had a breakout season with Sporting CP last campaign and could return to England with many clubs interested in signing him. Yes, we are judging him based on one season but the talent is there for everyone to see.
If Arsenal want to look at someone more experienced in the PL though, they could look at Dominic Solanke (an Arsenal fan on Spurs’ radar) or even Ivan Toney. Both those players would help with the homegrown quota as well. Only time will tell how the Gunners’ transfer pans out from here.
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