Arsenal’s need to sign a striker is clear for all to see and the situations of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are doing little to lessen the burden on the club’s January transfer plans.
Arsenal will see Lacazette leave at the end of the season with his contract due to expire and Aubameyang’s future is at its highest grade of uncertainty after the captaincy controversy.
The club has been linked to a number of strikers including Dusan Vlahovic and Dominic Calvert-Lewin but with the success of the youth in the Gunners’ team, there have been suggestions that Mikel Arteta and Edu should look within to solve their problems.
The 5-1 win over Sunderland was aided by a hat-trick from Eddie Nketiah whose deal also expires at the end of the season.
Arsenal have attempted to convince the player to sign a new deal with Arteta persistently speaking of his own desire to see the 22-year-old remain with the north London side. Possibly fearing the damage he could do to the Gunners playing elsewhere.
Speaking after the match, The Arsenal Way’s Guy Clarke explained that Everton and England striker Calvert-Lewin is only just improving aspects of his game that Nketiah already possesses.
GC: “If we’re linked with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, a big improvement in his game has been one touch finishing. We’ve already got a guy in the building who can do that, and he needs to be given chances.
“I think his hold-up play, his build-up play has improved immeasurably as well. Obviously just before the pandemic started he was beginning to get opportunities.
“That red card against Leeds really seemed to kill his chances in the Premier League side and from there it has always been difficult for him to get a look in.
“The way you saw Lacazette play at Leeds at the weekend of dropping right off and allowing those gaps for [Gabriel] Martinelli was similar to what we were seeing from Nketiah at the end there [against Sunderland].
The price of signing Calvert-Lewin from Everton is expected to be in the region close to Arsenal’s transfer record. Should a contract be agreed between Arsenal and Nketiah’s representatives it could be a huge money saver for the club whilst keeping a clinical talent at the Emirates.
I added in the show that plenty of sides in the league would be far better off with Nketiah in their ranks with no shortage of interest expected this winter.
TC: “There are going to be a lot of teams at the bottom of the Premier League at the top of the Championship that are lacking goals. You look at Brighton who are creating a ridiculous number of chances and aren’t scoring.”
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