Arsenal are reportedly interested in Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, with the Gunners tracking the Uruguayan as they look to find a new striker ahead of next season.
football.london understand that Arsenal are tracking Nunez ahead of a potential move this summer after his incredible season so far for Benfica. In 33 games, the striker has found the net 26 times, making him one of Europe's most prolific strikers.
With Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah at the end of their contracts this summer, the Gunners will be left with no senior strikers at the club, meaning reinforcements are needed. As the summer transfer window approaches, many strikers have been linked with a move to Mikel Arteta's side, including Man United's Marcus Rashford, Lille's Jonathan David and PSV's Cody Gakpo.
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Arsenal's technical director Edu is in contact with the representatives of Nunez ahead of a potential move for the the 22-year-old in the summer, but the striker has his fair share of admirers. Along with Arsenal, Man United, Spurs, West Ham and Newcastle are interested in bringing Nunez to the Premier League, whilst the Uruguayan also has suitors abroad in Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
So, if Nunez was to choose a move to Arsenal next season, what sort of impact could he have on Arteta's side? We simulated next season with the 22-year-old as an Arsenal player and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Darwin Nunez for Arsenal in July 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Nunez to join Arsenal at the start of the summer 2022 transfer window for his reported fee if £67 million, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also arranged for Lacazette, Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny to be released at the end of their contracts. This is how his in-game profile looks on FM22 in July, 2022.
Described by FM22 as a fairly determined striker, Nunez has a very strong profile in-game, with the 6'2" forward comfortable anywhere along the forward line and boasts some impressive physical stats. His high-rated pace, aggression, work rate and strength make him a tough striker to defend, with his traits similar to Erling Haaland.
Let's take a look at how Nunez performed throughout the 2022/23 season after signing for the Gunners in the summer. Despite becoming a regular in the Arsenal squad and making 50 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, Nunez struggled to consistently find the net.
Across all competitions, Nunez scored 14 goals and grabbed seven assists, a decent return, but not for how much he would be costing the Gunners. In 32 Premier league games, Nunez scored nine of his goals and also managed six assists, with the rest of his goals coming in the FA Cup and Europa League.
Nunez averaged a rating of 7.10 per game in all competitions, with his best performances coming in Europe. As well as bringing Nunez to the Emirates, Arsenal signed Inter's Marcelo Brozovic to strengthen the midfield, whilst Valencia's Goncalo Guedes arrived from Valencia, taking the Gunners' total spending to £107m.
The Uruguayan actually had a very promising start to his Arsenal career, scoring six of his Premier League goals in the opening 11 games. But, the goals dried up, and Gabriel Martinelli became the Gunners biggest threat, scoring 18 goals throughout the season.
Martin Odegaard also managed more goals than Nunez (15) whilst grabbing 13 assists for the Gunners, and new signings Brozovic and Guedes impressed, with the former averaging the best rating per game at the club. The Croatian midfielder scored 12, assisted 15 and grabbed the most Player of the Match awards.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Arsenal's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Arsenal best XI (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, Gabriel, White, Tierney; Brozovic, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Nunez.
Brozovic and Nunez made the best XI with the latter starting as a lone striker, but fellow summer signing Guedes did not make the cut, along with Emile Smith-Rowe, who was limited to appearances in the 2022/23 season. So, how did Arsenal perform in the league and cup competitions after signing Nunez in the summer transfer window?
Arsenal's results from the 2022/23 simulation
Arsenal had a great season in the Premier League during the simulation, finishing third in the table and securing Champions League football. The Gunners tallied 79 points over the 38 games including a seven game win streak in their last seven games, finishing eight points off Liverpool in first place.
Interestingly, Arsenal ended the season as the league's top scorers, scoring 72 goals across the season. This was three more goals than table toppers Liverpool and an average of 1.9 goals scored per game.
In the cup competitions, Arsenal had a successful season, winning one trophy and coming agonisingly close to winning a second. First half goals from Martinelli and Odegaard proved enough as the Gunners beat Leeds 2-1 in the FA Cup final for their only trophy of the season.
Arteta's side also reached the Carabao Cup final, but Allan Saint-Maximin's goal separated the sides as Newcastle won 1-0. The Gunners went on a decent run in the Europa League, but a 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid on aggregate saw Arsenal eliminated in the semi finals.
Overall, Football Manager 2022 predicts that if Nunez were to sign for Arsenal in the summer, his individual impact may not be amazing, but his arrival would see Martinelli improve his attacking input, making Arsenal one of the most dangerous sides in England. The simulation saw Arsenal end the season as the leagues top scorers and win one trophy, a big improvement on past campaigns.
Would you like to see Darwin Nunez sign for Arsenal? Let us know in the comments!
