Although Arsenal supporters have a great deal to be grateful for this season, it was yet another Premier League season that ended in sadness and countless unanswered questions.
Even though Mikel Arteta’s team had the greatest defence in the league, they were only able to score five goals less than the reigning champions, while fighting Manchester City until the very end.
As a result, even with Gabriel Jesus’s quality and Kai Havertz’s skill, the Gunners appear to need a new number nine. According to recent sources, that may be exactly what they get, as a player who has outscored both Arsenal stars has been strongly linked to a move to the N5.
Arsenal’s pursuit of a striker
It’s no secret that Edu Gaspar and the company are searching for a new striker for the upcoming campaign. Players like Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak, and Victor Osimhen have already been strongly linked to a move to the Emirates, but Lautaro Martínez is another name that has just surfaced.
Arsenal is reportedly very interested in Inter Milan’s star player and is planning an offer of €90 million, or roughly £77 million, to entice the Italian team to sell him, according to a source from Spain over the weekend.
The Italian champions, according to the report, are having financial difficulties off the field despite their incredible success on it. As a result, even though selling Martínez wouldn’t be the best course of action, they would be open to working with the Gunners should they make the offer that is rumoured to be in the works.
Should this transaction materialise, it would represent yet another significant outlay by the Kroenkes for the starting lineup; but, considering the North London team’s dire need for a reliable goal scorer and the Argentine’s incredible play this year, it might well be a wise investment.
How Havertz and Jesus are compared to Martínez
How does Martínez compare to Arsenal’s two main attackers if the club is willing to invest a large amount of money on him this summer?
Not unexpectedly, this season’s World Cup victor has outperformed both of them in terms of effectiveness. That is demonstrated by his goal total of 27 in 44 games, which is higher than the combined totals of the German and Brazilian teams, who are at 14 and 8, respectively.
When comparing the three players’ goal involvements for the season, the Inter star’s 34 goals are just three less than the 37 goals his possible future teammates together scored.
And it’s not only that the 26-year-old is the obvious winner in terms of output. He leads in the majority of them when comparing their underlying striker-relevant statistics.
He is ranked higher for non-penalty expected goals, non-penalty goals, shots, shots on target, goals per shot, and goals per shot on target, all per ninety. However, he does not rank higher for aerial duels won or goal-creating actions per ninety.
Even if it means less playing time for Havertz and Jesus, Arsenal must recruit Martínez to North London this summer since their chances of winning the title could depend on how many goals he scores.
