Arsenal need to move seriously for a striker in the summer. Although, just the one is certainly not enough to elevate the club to the level of competing with the top sides in the league.
Arsenal gambled in January on Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah being enough to propel them to their goals, but after three back-to-back defeats the risk is seemingly not paying off. Nothing can be done to change the squad now, but with the pair leaving in the summer when their deals expire the scope to recruit will be huge.
The strikers linked with the club have typically fallen into the younger age categories. However, recent reports suggest that Arsenal will be amongst the suitors for one of Europe’s more experienced forwards.
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Juventus’ Paulo Dybala is expected to leave the club on a free deal this summer when his contract expires. The Argentine international is being courted by a number of teams but TuttoMercato claims that Arsenal along with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are the leading chasers.
Dybala has been unable to nail down the number nine role whilst with Juventus. With Cristiano Ronaldo and now Dusan Vlahovic at the club alongside the more natural number nine Alvaro Morata, Dybala’s versatility and smaller frame made him better suited to a support role.
This season he has eight goals and five assists and has also captained the side on 16 occasions. Not prolific numbers but with 96 goals and 51 assists in 266 Serie A appearances, Dybala is a serious player.
That said, he alone cannot be the sole forward the Gunners sign. Dybala being able to move on a free transfer gives Arsenal the flexibility to invest in yet another forward. Considering Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has already left and Lacazette plus Nketiah are soon to follow, two forwards this summer is a must.
Bringing in a younger, contrasting forward to Dybala would equip Arsenal’s attacking line with the tools to combat the season’s demands much better than their current crop provides.
Both 23-year-old Victor Osimhen and 22-year-old Darwin Nunez have been linked to Arsenal with quoted valuations around the €80 million (£66.3 million) mark.
Signing one or both players would give Arsenal quality, but it wouldn’t add to what they do not already have regarding their age profile. Reducing the overall age of the squad by moving on players surplus to requirements of an older age bracket was necessary.
Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Mesut Ozil, Sead Kolasinac, Willian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were on sizeable wages and offered little. Yet a squad does need balance and having players with years on their record is good for the group.
It is just important to ensure these players are not surplus and can compete with the group. Take Liverpool with Jordan Henderson, Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk. Players that are in their thirties but all start for the title contenders. The same goes for Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker of Manchester City.
Arsenal’s young stars need to have role models with quality. Lacazette was providing that but now his goals have dried up, the Gunners need more and Dybala could be the one to bring it.
