Arsenal are reportedly interested in exciting young prospect Darwin Nunez, with Mikel Arteta keen to strengthen his attacking options.
The Gunners are expected to have a busy summer with a striker or two almost certain to join the club, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's departure in January still yet to be addressed. Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah also face uncertain futures at the Emirates, with both players' contracts set to expire this summer.
Nunez has been linked with a number of top clubs across Europe and the 22-year-old looks set to leave Benfica this summer. Nunez has shown his ability to score at an elite level, bagging six goals in the Champions League this season, with his tally at 32 in 37 appearances across all competitions.
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So, if Nunez was to make the move to Arsenal in the summer, what sort of impact could he have at the Emirates Stadium? Could the Uruguayan striker help Arsenal win a trophy next season? We simulated the 2022/23 season with Nunez in Arsenal's squad and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Darwin Nunez for Arsenal in the summer transfer window
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Nunez to join Arsenal at the start of the 2022/23 season, using FM22 to run the simulation. This is what Nunez's in-game profile looks like on FM22.
The 22-year-old's attributes highlight his ability to hold up the ball when required, as well as run the channels and get in behind defences with his brilliant Pace (16/20) and Acceleration (17), along with great Strength (15) and Jumping Reach (15). Nunez has brilliant technical attributes for a young striker with plenty of potential to become one of Europe's elite attackers, whilst his mental attributes show he has everything needed to excel in any tactical system.
The Uruguayan striker bagged 21 goals and registered an impressive 10 assists in his debut season at Arsenal, making a total of 49 appearances across all competitions. Nunez became the main man in attack for the Gunners and finished as the third-highest goalscorer in the Premier League, only behind Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah with 17 goals in 38 games.
Nunez's assist tally ranked him as the fourth-best provider at Arsenal in all competitions., only behind Martin Odegaard (20), Emile Smith Rowe (17) and Bukayo Saka (16). With an average match rating of 7.29 across all competitions, Nunez became a crucial part of the Arsenal squad and consistently performed well under Arteta, ranking only behind Saka (7.45), Smith Rowe (7.43) and Odegaard (7.40) in terms of match rating.
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 the Gunners' 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, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Nunez.
Nunez replaced Lacazette in the starting line-up as Mikel Arteta opted for the young striker ahead of the experienced Frenchman. Whilst Arsenal did sign Ismaila Sarr in the summer along with Nunez, the winger was unable to feature in the best XI for the 2022/23 season.
So, how did Arsenal perform in the Premier League and cup competitions? Let's take a look.
Arsenal's performances in all competitions
Arsenal had a great season, finishing third in the Premier League and were only 13 points behind eventual champions Liverpool. Nunez helped fire the Gunners above Manchester City in the table as Arteta's side bridged the gap to Pep Guardiola's side, who had a poor season.
Arsenal were involved in a four-way title race, that was up until February, when inconsistent defensive performances started to see them fall away from Liverpool. In comparison to the 2020/21 campaign, Arsenal finished five positions higher in the league, with 17 more points and a better goal difference by +13 with Nunez in the side.
In the cup competitions, Arsenal performed below expectations as they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round and FA Cup third round after defeats to Aston Villa and Man City. Upon the Gunners' return to the Champions League, they were knocked out against Bayern Munich in the first knockout round after a 4-3 aggregate defeat, with Serge Gnabry scoring against his former side at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that if Arsenal were to sign Nunez ahead of the 2022/23 season, the 22-year-old could have a superb debut season at the Emirates and emulated Thierry Henry's 2002/03 season by registering double figures in goals and assists for the Gunners. Nunez became a key performer for Arsenal and helped Arteta's side finish above Man City and qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season.
Would you like to see Darwin Nunez sign for Arsenal this summer? Let us know in the comments!
