Mike Arteta has suggested that Emile Smith Rowe could be the answer to Arsenal'sl striker problem.
With both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah set to leave the Emirates at the end of the season when their contracts expire, the Gunners are in desperate need of new blood up front.
And while fans are expecting their striking salvation to come from the transfer market, Arteta appears to counting on Smith Rowe - an attacking midfielder - to step up to the plate.
Following their rousing 2-1 win against Brentford on Saturday in which the England international scored, his Arsenal boss said: "I think he can play in four positions.
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"He can play as a left-winger, he can play as a left attacking midfielder, right attacking midfielder and he can play as a 9; very, very well I think."
While Smith Rowe is the Gunners' top goalscorer this season, supporters will be surprised considering that the last time the 21-year-old was deployed in a striking role, they were dumped out of the 2020-21 Europa League by Villarreal last May.
But even if his talents make evolving into a No.9 a possibility, Smith Rowe seems to be happy playing exactly where he is.
In fact, his goal against Brentford made him the first Arsenal academy graduate to score 10 or more goals in a campaign since Cesc Fabregas.
"Wow! That's really special to hear that," he told the Gunners' website. "Yeah, that means a lot, you know? It's always been a dream to play for Arsenal so to hear that, it means a lot.
"I'm buzzing. The goals are really starting to come now but the most important thing was the three points today.
"It's a bit surreal, to be honest. Me and Bukayo [Saka] have both come from the academy, Eddie as well. To hear the fans screaming our names and scoring that today together, it's just been great."
As far as this term goes, though, Arteta seems confident in his options even after the January transfer window saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave.
"The importance of Auba's goals at the club is unquestionable but we have other players and we believe we have other qualities in different ways to try to accomplish the amount of goals that we need in the team and that's what we're going to try and do," he stated after Aubameyang's departure.
"We have three strikers. We have Laca and we have Eddie with us and they are both more than capable of scoring goals and they have shown that over the years with us.
"Again, when we have to replace or improve the squad, it can only be with a player that we are certain of.
"First of all, that they're the right person and the right character to join and then they're a player with the quality to straight away impact the performance of the team and our capacity to build a future around him as well."
