Arsenal's Search For Striker

image source

It is a universal feeling among all Arsenal fans that the club needs a striker to get to the next level. This is seen as the missing piece in the Mikel Arteta project, but fans worldwide are concerned about the body language from club. We're doing more business in defence than upfront. Consolidating an already steady defence is great, however, this doesn't rule out the need for a goal machine.

Although we've been linked with so many players in the last few months, there's yet to be any signs of progress in our search for a striker, that is, if Arteta is convinced he needs a striker.

Olympique Marseille are reportedly in advanced talks to secure the signature of Eddie Nketiah on a permanent deal, which means we're one striker down from last season where we felt we were already understaffed. Notwithstanding the fact that I feel Nketiah has not really hit his potential at Arsenal, I feel we shouldn't be letting him go without a viable replacement.

There have also been rumours about the possible exit of Gabriel Jesus, who many Arsenal fans thought would solve the striker problem when he joined from Manchester City two seasons ago, but the Brazilian has proven not to be near the solution at this time with his four goals and five assists in 27 league games last season not what Arsenal needs to go a step further in actualizing the dream of winning the Premier league.

We've been linked at different times with Ivan Toney, who I don't really fancy and who has reportedly expressed his interest in join Manchester United instead. Just like we've also been linked with Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting Lisbon; the Swede recorded 29 goals and 10 assists in 33 league games last season. This rumour has, however, died down much.

In my opinion, my first option for a striker would be Newcastle's Alexandre Isak. If he can pull 21 goals and two assists in a Newcastle team, I believe he's the kind of striker that can give us at least 25 goals in an Arsenal setup. Very likened to Arsenal great, Thierry Henry, he has the complete feature of a finisher that we so desperately need.

Another option for me would be Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins. The English man's 19 league goals last season was only bettered by Erling Haaland (27), Cole Palmer (22) and Isak (21). He proved that his 15 league goals in the previous season was no fluke and you can only expect him to get better in an even stronger team.

While Villa's Champions League qualification may prove a vital hurdle to surmount in poaching Watkins, Isak's valuation fee by Newcastle hovering around £115M may scare Arsenal off. With Newcastle needing to balance their books and the departure of some major players on the plate, Arsenal could give it a go in vying for his signature.

I'm not seeing any green light of the arrival of a striker yet, but I'm hopeful we do a meaningful business in that position before we get deep into pre-season or worst case, before the window ends.