Arsenal Future Striker Options
Arsenal and transfer rumours are a tale older than time.
Finding out about the £40 million + 1 pound bid for Luis Suarez is a vivid, scarring experience in my memory. Arsenal fans becoming the best detectives in the world and predicting the Gabriel Magalhães transfer thanks to the positions of the clouds is another equally vivid yet slightly (!) better memory.
For a long time, Arsenal was not a club that signed big players. Mesut Özil stood out in this regard, and Aubameyang’s transfer came when he was a very exciting, sought-after player.
Under Arteta, things have further evolved and the Arsenal project is now one of the most exciting in the world — if not THE most exciting.
Signing Declan Rice this summer was essential for Arsenal’s progress (as I said in February this year) and showed the pull of London’s biggest club.
Arteta seems to have an elite talent ID (seems because there have been some unsuccessful transfers — Lokonga for example) and already stands out as an exceptional. Young players and a young manager moving from strength to strength — who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
For a while, Arsenal has been linked with strikers such as Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen (a drastic improvement from being linked to Patrick Bamford). Today, I’ll be looking at three of these striker options and giving my opinion on them.
Need for a striker?
https://twitter.com/_Stats24/status/1727326067550028037/photo/1
First though, let’s discuss whether we actually need a striker. In the current squad, we have two CFs by trade: Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
Jesus is a fantastic player who improves the team’s floor considerably when he plays. His main flaw is his inconsistent finishing, and it does hold him back somewhat, but he really is a fantastic player.
Nketiah can be lethal and invaluable to the team, or he can be invisible and a net negative. I am a big fan of his, and he has never been given consistent game-time, which I desperately want to see for him. However, he is certainly not the perfect striker and maybe his Hale End origins make me look at him through rose-tinted glasses. I don’t think moving on from Eddie would be a bad move, which pains me to say.
Do we need to replace these players? I think the answer to that question is no. Arsenal scored 88 goals in the Premier League last season, which is more than enough to win the league based on past samples. The Gunners are also conceding less this season, so with a similar amount of goals, the league title should return to North London.
Would replacing these players improve our team? Probably. Of course, that is reliant on the players we sign to replace them, but would our team be better with prime RVP or Rooney or Agüero? The answer is yes and, if we can, we should sign a player of that level or who could surpass that level.
In all honesty, I don’t think we will splash out massively on a striker in January, with a Saliba replacement and an 8 both being more important signings in my eyes. However, I do have a sneaking suspicion that Arteta may pull off a huge January signing, and that would likely be a striker in my opinion. After all, the Spaniard often surprises the footballing world.
If not, I think Arsenal will splash the cash next summer.
So, let’s look at the three of the best potential options.
1. Victor Osimhen
Age: 24 (25 in December)
Current team: Napoli
Was instrumental in Napoli’s title winning side, scored 26 goals and dominated defences across Europe. Had good spells at Charleroi and Lille (Lille player of the season for example)
Valuation: €120 million according to Transfermarkt, plus a LOT in wages
Osimhen is the second-most highly rated striker in the world behind Erling Haaland. He was the top scorer in the Serie A last season and wowed fans across the world.
He is strong, pacy, skilful, intelligent and links up play very well. He also works hard defensively, rarely giving up on the ball even in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
One of Osimhen’s biggest strengths are his runs in behind, which cause opposition defences endless problems. This is less of a strength when playing for Arsenal because opponents always install a low block, at least in the Premier League.
Does this make him unviable? Absolutely not. Osimhen is a massive aerial threat and target man who can also link up play. With him, Arsenal will be able to punt it long or intricately pass their way through teams. He will also still get these runs in behind, even against low blocks, and players like Odegaard have the ability to feed him.
Osimhen is very good at finishing too, from either foot and from any position. He has scored 10 goals or more in each of his last five seasons, proving his consistency. He also scored 5 goals in 6 games in the Champions League last season.
Osimhen owed a lot of his success to his partnership with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Undoubtedly, Bukayo Saka (or Gabriel Martinelli) will be able to build a comparable bond.
Does this transfer make sense? Absolutely. One of the best strikers in the world joining the best project in the world makes complete sense. Osimhen is a monster in and out of the box and I think he fits stylistically with Arsenal.
Does this transfer improve the team? Yes, I believe so. Considering that Jesus and Nketiah are so young, if a striker is brought in, he either needs to be better than them or younger and with higher potential. In my opinion, Osimhen falls into the first category.
Another thing that I really appreciate about Osimhen is his mentality. He plays with such a fearsome determination that would leak into the team, and it was something the Gunners lacked at points last season, especially in that woeful end of season run.
What are the issues? The issues are cost and potential issue of adapting to the Premier League, which shouldn’t be a problem for him but you never know. Osimhen will break the Gunner’s bank, there is no doubt about that. That will also make it harder to sign top profiles in other positions, which must also be considered.
The only thing that makes me reticent along with cost is his injury record. It is by no means a disastrous injury record, but he will miss some games judging on his past.
Conclusion
Bring him to London.
Osimhen will improve the team considerably and add a different dimension of threat, while not losing out on any qualities either. In some ways, I think Nketiah is quite similar to him so selling Nketiah would make sense, freeing up some funds.
The other massive advantage of signing Osimhen is that no other team can sign Osimhen. Manchester City tend to sign the best players in every position, leaving other clubs to go for lesser players. With Haaland, City are not a possibility, so we should move on him for sure.
Famous last words, but I don’t see how the Nigerian doesn’t succeed at Arsenal.
Sign him in January.
2. Ivan Toney
Age: 27 (28 in March)
Current team: Brentford
An animal of a striker who always occupies centre backs and was fantastic for Brentford last season with 21 goals
Valuation: Brentford reportedly value him at around £100 million
One of the strongest Arsenal transfer rumours is Ivan Toney. The Brentford striker is continuously linked to Arsenal.
Toney already has history with Arsenal. After Brentford’s win against Arsenal in the first game of the 2021/22 season (Brentford’s first ever Premier League game), Toney sent out a tweet saying “Nice kickabout with the boys”.
It rattled the fanbase considerably, with Arteta showing his men the tweet before the return match (3–0 victory for the Gunners). So, should Mikel transform Ivan Toney from villain to hero?
Toney is a very, very good striker. He scored 21 goals for Brentford last season, a very impressive feat, and he was a crucial factor in them avoiding relegation and starting to establish themselves as a mid-table Prem side.
A thing that I love about Toney is that he never panics. He is calm and collected on the ball and takes his time, without being slow. He hits the ball very hard, often finds himself in space in the box and has a gravity that attracts one or two defenders to him. Even with two players on him, he’ll get to the ball.
He is a massive aerial threat thanks to his strength and intelligence. Last season, he was the only striker all season that made Saliba look average. That is probably the biggest compliment I can give Toney as an Arsenal fan.
His link-up play is other biggest quality (along with composure and finishing). Toney understands where he needs to be, dropping deeper or sticking to the centre-backs according to the needs of the team.
He is very good at dribbling and passing and has the vision to match his ability. His calmness means that he often has a complete picture of what is going on. Combine him with players such as Havertz and Martinelli, and without a doubt, the Gunners will be scoring all sorts of goals.
Of course, he is suspended until the middle of January for betting offences (strangely, betting sponsors continue to be a thing, funny that!) and therefore won’t have played for a while.
His price tag is also far too excessive. Paying £100 million for a 27-year old striker whose best season is 21 goals with 4 penalty goals would be insane.
Does this transfer make sense? In some ways it does, in others it doesn’t. When I watch Ivan Toney play, his composure in particular is a quality that I would love to see at Arsenal. He plays with a quiet arrogance that reminds me of a Wenger team and his link-up play makes him very appropriate for Arsenal.
On the other hand, paying that much money for a 27-year old doesn’t make sense to me.
Does the transfer improve the team? I think it does, but only just. I’m not sure whether Toney is a considerable improvement on Jesus, but I do think the sheer quality he has shown at Brentford would mean that he excels at a team like Arsenal.
I think he would also be incredible against low blocks thanks to his aerial threat and link-up play and he offers a different solution to Jesus. However, considering he is older than both strikers, is he considerably better? No.
What are the issues? Price and ceiling.
Conclusion
For a price tag of over £60 million, I don’t think Arsenal should even consider it. Below that price, there could be room for a deal that massively benefits both teams.
I like Toney as a football player a lot. His composure is second to none and I think he would fit in immediately — probably. Of course, his history doesn’t scream prolific goal scorer, but some players blossom later on their career.
That being said, in my gut, I don’t think this transfer is the best idea. I think if we do sign a striker, he has to be generational, or at the very least world class. At the age of 27, Toney will only have a couple more seasons in his true prime and is he world-class? I don’t think so.
Don’t sign him.
3. Evan Ferguson
Age: 19 (20 next October)
Current team: Brighton
The biggest young prospect in the world, very physical and a great ball-striker, already scored a Premier League hattrick
Valuation: €65 million according to Transfermarkt (probably more in reality)
Ten years ago, Arsenal would not have had a flicker of a chance to sign this man. Oh, how times have changed for the better.
Of all young players I’ve seen in recent years, Ferguson has been the most convincing. Only an injury can stop this man from getting to the top in my opinion.
He can finish with both feet, run in-behind, receive to feet or drop deep, and he can pin centre backs to the back line or tempt them away, creating space for wingers in behind (Martinelli would love this).
He is quick, agile and precise with his movements and his touches. He has an ability to finish from any angle which is a huge quality to have at his age, capable of cutting in and curling it or just smashing the ball.
He has already started 8 games this season and had 4 substitute appearances. In this time, he has scored 6 goals, including that hattrick. Last season, he scored 6 goals in 19 Premier League games, which for an 18-year-old is a very solid amount, but his game is more than just goals.
When Alan Shearer says that there is no obvious weakness to your game at the age of 18, then you know that you are a special talent. Evan Ferguson is certainly a special talent.
Does this transfer make sense? Yes. When a 19-year old looks extremely comfortable leading the line for a very good Premier League side, then signing him always makes sense, unless you have Haaland and Osimhen already in your team.
The Arsenal academy does have a few rising stars in the striker position, such as Khayon Edwards, who I have read extremely positive things about. However, Ferguson is younger than Edwards and starting as centre forward for Brighton.
It would be unfortunate for Edwards but for a gem like Ferguson, it is worth that sacrifice.
Does the transfer improve the team? Probably not immediately. I doubt that Ferguson would have an instant impact on the team that outweighs Jesus.
On the long term, Ferguson certainly improves the team. If Arsenal did sign him, then the oldest player in an incredible front three of Martinelli, Ferguson, Saka would be 22. 22! That would be a front line of real MFS.
What are the issues? Of course, price again.
The other difficulty would be adapting him to the team. It isn’t really a transfer that makes sense in January.
Allow Ferguson to develop more for the rest of the season, getting 90 minutes every week for a very good, technical team and see how he performs.
Then, ease him into the team over the summer and reap the rewards: Prems, Champions Leagues, etc. (maybe I’m getting ahead of myself but I doubt it).
Conclusion
Arsenal should monitor him very, very closely. After signing Trossard from Brighton in January, it seemed the clubs had a good relationship but it then soured somewhat during the Caicedo transfer saga (great decision to go to Chelsea!!).
However, the clubs’ relationship is unclear. Arsenal should definitely hope that their relationship is still good and they should certainly send out feelers (if they haven’t already, that’s a mistake).
Again, by signing Ferguson, that denies any other club signing him, which is a massive advantage.
Ferguson seems like a talent for the ages. I think he also has the mentality and drive to match his talent and he seems smart and self-aware (he won’t ever play for England).
If it’s feasible for Arteta’s plans, then the deal is a no-brainer. If it isn’t very feasible, then it’s time to change the plans.
Sign him next summer.
There are of course other striker options for Arsenal (Vlahovic for one) and the club may not even sign a striker for a while. In any case, those were my opinions on these three players.
Do you agree or disagree? Who would you like to see Arsenal sign? Let me know in the comments!
