Arsenal suffered their fourth loss of the Premier League season, with Bournemouth registering a historical double over the Gunners. While the performance was weak, one might attribute it to Mikel Arteta not wanting to stretch his team with a crucial UEFA Champions League semi-final on the horizon.
However, the criticism of Arteta and the Arsenal board are valid, given how the domestic season has panned out. The Gunners have done extremely well in the Champions League when they were given no chance in the build-up to the quarter-finals against Real Madrid. But that competition now hangs in the balance following a 1-0 first-leg loss to PSG in the semi-final.
During this run in the Champions League, Arsenal have struggled once again in the league. One might assume it is to keep the intensity low in the domestic games to focus on the European competition. However, after a point, the fans are going to feel disappointed at repeated mistakes from the players that have painted an embarrassing picture in the league table.
Arsenal are currently 15 points off champions Liverpool, and one might attribute their fall off this season to the big injuries they have had. One of the primary focus has been on the absence of Kai Havertz, with Arsenal winning only four league games since the German international pulled his hamstring in January.
Gabriel Jesus has also been missing since January following an ACL rupture, which left Arsenal short of any options in the No.9 role. Arteta has so far refused to acknowledge the presence of Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, although the Gunners boss has impressively converted midfielder Mikel Merino into a prolific striker in the ensuing months.
Merino is not a long-term option, and a few sections of the fanbase believe the club should have addressed the situation in the January window. They did reportedly try for Ollie Watkins without much success, but realistically there were not many striker options available in the market. Hence, the reason why Arsenal did not sign one, and that was not the plan anyway.
In any case, ahead of the summer, the Gunners are primed to bring a notable No.9, and some big names are being linked. Here we explore some of those targets and bring about an argument on which one is suitable while who is achievable realistically, as new sporting director Berta has a high decision on his hands.
The Slovenian was a target for Arsenal last summer, and to their credit, they did angle for a move for him then. However, the circumstances surrounding the move may not have suited Sesko, who wanted to keep playing regularly and improve, something he would rightly achieve with RB Leipzig, but in hindsight, he could have established himself at Arsenal given how the season panned out for them.
Football transfers cannot be considered based on injury preparations, and while Sesko made the right choice, Arsenal would have been better with him on their side. Up until the arrival of Berta, the Slovenian international was a target for Arsenal, but things have cooled in that regard since, although that does not suggest they are not looking at him. Recent reports have also linked him with Chelsea and Manchester United.
Berta has made some checks on Sesko, which would suggest he is kept on the list in some capacity. There are big doubts if he is Arteta’s top target, as he was initially seen as someone of a rotational striker and that stance has not changed much.
Financially, he will cost a hefty fee in the market, which will add to the pressure of playing him regularly. As for his development, Sesko is nowhere close to being a complete striker, and for the price point he is expected to be made available for, Arsenal will not get a striker who will readily integrate into the team and score 20-30 goals. Hence, they are likely to keep him as a third-choice target in the summer over others.
The Aston Villa man was reportedly open to the idea of joining Arsenal in January, but the timing of their reported bid became a problem. Unai Emery would have ideally loved to keep hold of him as well as Jhon Duran, but financial constraints saw them sell the latter to Al-Nassr for a big offer.
The idea of selling both their main strikers did not sit well overall, as Watkins was expected to stay after the Duran sale. The English striker is a boyhood fan of Arsenal and still harbours dreams of playing for them at some point.
There were murky details about the move from Arsenal, as the timing of when the reports came out were very important to add to the context. It appears talks were held much before the bid was reported, with suggestions that there were disagreements with the price being offered.
The move looked like an emergency plug-in from Arsenal, who had already lost Jesus and Havertz to season-ending injuries. At 29, Watkins does not offer the long-term option that Arteta seeks, and that could play a role in their efforts to target the Aston Villa man in the summer.
His form has also wavered since January as Emery has preferred to use on-loan winger Marcus Rashford as his main striker over Watkins. The latter has come back into the setup following Rashford’s injury, but Berta might have seen enough to consider taking Watkins off his list altogether ahead of the summer.
Alexander Isak is the striker that Arteta likes and feels he is perfect for Arsenal. However, there are a lot more complications than any of their other striker targets, as the Swede will not be a straightforward arrival by any means.
The first part of the complication is his asking price, as Newcastle United have reportedly slapped a price close to £150 million. Spending that sort of money will not be seen as viable for Arsenal or any other team, although he could come back into the reckoning if they can find a way to reduce the asking rate.
Secondly, there is big interest from rivals Liverpool, who view Isak as their no.1 attacking target, and given they have a hefty budget as well, one cannot rule out the Merseysiders paying a huge fee for the Swedish striker.
The third, and biggest complication is Newcastle United’s will to keep Isak in their squad. The suggestion earlier was that the Swede would consider staying if the club qualified for the Champions League and they are very much on course to finish in the top five. Hence, if that happens, and Isak still wants to leave, he will cost a Premier League record fee for certain.
As for Arsenal, they are still very much in contention for Isak and may rival Liverpool for the Swede’s signature. There will be questions about finances, but the Gunners are in a healthier state to make another big deal happen, and as things stand, Isak is on top of Berta’s wish list, albeit not being the most easily achievable one.
Viktor Gyokeres is probably the most logical, affordable and achievable target on this list. The Swede has made the world take notice of his talent with two goal-laden seasons with Sporting CP and has lifted any doubts about whether he can perform consistently.
There will always be questions about whether he can perform at the same level in the Premier League, but the Swede has not shown any indications of slowing down. As soon as Berta arrived at the club, Gyokeres was the first concrete striker target that emerged in media reports.
Arsenal have a long-standing interest, but so far his €100 million release clause has proven prohibitive. Multiple sources have stated Sporting CP are open to drastically reducing their asking rate, which may have brought Arsenal back into the equation.
Gyokeres is slightly older than the Isak and considerably so compared to Sesko. However, he is entering his peak and seems like the kind of striker that Arsenal would prefer in their ranks. There will be question marks about how quickly he can adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, but the Swede seems to be ready for the big action.
The only problem in this case is the interest from Manchester United led by former Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim. Some reports have stated the Red Devils consider Gyokeres as their primary striker target, as they could potentially challenge Arsenal to the signing. He is also a target for Chelsea.
Arsenal are already working in the background to secure Gyokeres’s signing, with Berta leading the hunt. On paper, he seems like the striker target that is most affordable and logical from the Gunners’ point of view. Whether they will sign him is another question, as he has all the attributes that Arteta would want from his new No.9.
