It’s not hard to work out that Arsenal’s most significant area of need this summer is up top.
While Mikel Arteta’s squad could certainly do with more options out wide and even in midfield, adding a new striker to the side could be the difference between finally getting over the line or ending another campaign without major silverware next season.
After all, the North Londoners produced the best defence in the Premier League this year but only the third-best attack, which helps to explain the abundance of links to top-quality strikers that have been impossible to ignore in recent weeks and months.
One of those goalscorers heavily touted for a move to the Emirates has been Viktor Gyokeres, but if recent reports are to be believed, the club could now be looking at someone else, someone who’d be an even better signing.
Arsenal's striker search
Given Arsenal’s aforementioned lack of goals this season, it’s not been a surprise to see the club linked with a plethora of potentially game-changing strikers this summer, like Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins.
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The former could be available for around £68m and racked up a tally of 27 goal involvements in 45 games this season, while the latter might cost £40m and produced 17 goals and 14 assists in 54 games for Aston Villa.
On the other hand, it’s not entirely clear how much Gyokeres could cost the North Londoners, as following his falling out with the Sporting CP board over a supposed gentleman’s agreement, reports have emerged claiming he could cost as much, if not more than £68m.
The uncertainty around the Swedish international could make signing him particularly complicated this summer, and while that’s not ideal, fans shouldn’t worry too much, as it now appears as if the North Londoners are looking at another free-scoring forward, someone who’d be a better signing than former Coventry City star, Hugo Ekitiké.
Yes, according to a recent report from the German publication BILD, Arsenal are now interested in the Eintracht Frankfurt star.
The report has revealed that the Frenchman is now a serious option for the Gunners and that should Gyokeres or Sesko prove too expensive or difficult to sign, their interest in the 23-year-old will only grow.
However, there is one problem: the German outfit want €100m for their star attacker, which is around £85m.
It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Ekitike’s ability and potential, it’s one Arsenal should fight for, even if he ends up costing more than Gyokeres, as we reckon he’d be the better signing regardless.
Why Ekitiké would be a better signing than Gyokeres
Now, it’s easy to understand why Arsenal might want to sign Gyokeres this summer, as his form at Sporting has been nothing short of miraculous over the last two years.
For example, since joining the Portuguese giants in the summer of 2023, the Stockholm-born dynamo has scored 97 goals and provided 28 assists in 102 appearances, which comes out to a frankly absurd average of 1.22 goal involvements per game.
If anything, numbers like that make it hard to believe any other striker in world football would be a better signing for the Gunners this season, but there is one massive caveat when it comes to the Swede’s monster numbers, which is the league he’s been playing in.
While the likes of Sporting, Benfica, and Porto are all considered ‘big’ clubs, the overall level of the Portuguese top flight is relatively poor.
In fact, according to Opta Analyst, it’s the eighth best league in world football, coming in behind the Belgian Pro League and the Championship.
Moreover, according to the same date, 11 of the 18 teams in the competition are League One level or below, which makes it hard to gauge how well Gyokeres would do in the Premier League, especially when he has never played a minute in one of Europe’s top five leagues, despite being 27 years old.
In contrast, Ekitiké has made 52 appearances in Ligue 1 and 47 in the Bundesliga, and this season, he’s been incredibly effective when leading the line.
In 48 appearances, totalling 3644 minutes, the 23-year-old gem, whom journalist Graeme Bailey once dubbed the “next Mbappé,” scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists, which comes out to a brilliant average of 1.41 goal involvements per game.
Now, is he seemingly less effective than Gyokeres? Yes, but not only is he putting up great numbers in a top-five European league, but he’s doing so at a relatively young age.
Appearances
48
Minutes
3644′
Goals
22
Assists
12
Goal Involvements per Match
0.70
Minutes per Goal Involvement
107.17
Therefore, Arsenal can feel more assured of the kind of output they can expect from Ekitiké while also anticipating further improvement in the coming years, and this is the main reason he’d be a better signing than the Sporting star.
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