Arsenal are very much in a period of transition at the moment.
The failures of Unai Emery’s all too brief spell in charge have left his replacement Mikel Arteta with a hefty rebuilding job as he looks to get the Gunners back to anywhere near Champions League qualification, let alone title contention.
One area that needs addressing is their attacking play and general creativity in the final third.
Gone are the days of Arsene Wenger’s swashbuckling style, replaced by Emery’s far more tepid approach which Arteta is still trying to adjust.
While striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 17 goals this season put him second in the individual Premier League goal chart behind Jamie Vardy, they don’t tell you the story of a team that are struggling up top.
Behind Aubameyang, the next top scorer at the club in the league this season is Lacazette with just 7.
Arsenal have hit the back of the net a total of 40 times - 26 fewer than runaway leaders Liverpool, and according to the official Premier League website, are a lowly 13th in the table for big chances created with a messily 38, behind the likes of Brighton, Burnley and West Ham.
Last summer the Gunners attempted to boost their firepower with the record £72 million purchase of Lille winger Nicolas Pepe and while the Ivorian has impressed in bursts, a return of four league goals and six assists have so far yet to justify the huge outlay for his services.
Arteta’s job will be to try and find a way of getting the best out of his winger and find a way for him to hit the heights that attracted the Gunners in the first place.
One solution could involve going back to Lille and having a look at Pepe’s former teammate Jonathan Ikone.
Ikone and Pepe, along with Jonathan Bamba, proved a formidable attacking force last season helping Lille to an unlikely second-place finish in Ligue 1 and Arsenal could benefit from trying to revive the partnership in North London.
Playing as a number 10 primarily, the French international registered three goals and nine assists in the league last season which may seem like a modest total, but according to WhoScored there was no better assist to goal scorer partnership in Ligue 1 with Ikone laying on five chances for Pepe to convert.
His exceptional dribbling ability, pace and eye for a quick pass would add a different dimension to Arsenal’s attack, injecting a bit more urgency than current members of the midfield and moving the ball quicker to the front men.
Other Gunners forwards such as Aubameyang and Gabriel Martinelli would also benefit from Ikone, using their own pace to pick up on his threaded through balls.
Having just turned 22, Ikone would also fit the age profile for the kind of player Arsenal are looking for. This sort of signing would also solve the current dilemma Arsenal have around the misfiring Mesut Ozil.
Despite the German international’s slowly declining form in recent years, the Gunners are reluctant to cut ties with their playmaker.
However, should they recruit a player like Ikone as means of a longer-term replacement, it could hasten Ozil’s departure.
A stumbling block could come with the price tag with Lille expected to want similar to what Arsenal previously paid them for Pepe.
But it would be a risk worth taking if the two players can pick up where they left off in France and provide a welcome and timely boost to the Gunners’ attacking options.
