Roberto Firmino had an uncertain future at Liverpool as his contract was expiring at the end of June without him being close to putting pen to paper on an extension.
The 31-year-old, who has 108 goals 79 assists from 355 games since joining the Reds for £29m in 2015, held talks with Jurgen Klopp over his plans earlier this month and revealed to his manager that he wants to leave Liverpool after eight years at the club.
Firmino, who boasts 17 goals and seven assists from 55 games for Brazil, might be open to a Premier League switch if reports are to be believed, however, with transfer expert Ekrem Konur revealing that the Brazilian international has ‘offered himself’ to Arsenal and Manchester United.
He says Firmino ‘will leave’ Liverpool at the end of the season, but he’s not just considering a move to an English giant. The 31-year-old has also offered himself to Inter Milan and Barcelona, so time will tell where he ends up.
Arsenal do have a need for a striker like Firmino. Eddie Nketiah shone for the Gunners while deputising for Gabriel Jesus after Christmas, but he’s been short of goals of late which could make up Mikel Arteta’s mind to sign another centre-forward.
Jesus was meant to be Arsenal’s main centre-forward after joining from Manchester City last summer, but he’s been out with a knee injury since November. Nketiah hasn’t scored in his last six top-flight outings and only has four goals in 23 league games this season, so he might not be prolific enough.
United need a striker too after Cristiano Ronaldo had his contract mutually terminated earlier in the campaign. Wout Weghorst joined on loan in January as his replacement, but he’s only bagged two goals in 15 games. Anthony Martial has spent most of the season sidelined with injury, so Erik ten Hag is expected to bring in another attacker.
Firmino has made 28 appearances across the board in 2022/23, scoring 10 goals with five assists, so he’s still a useful player. The 31-year-old has netted more league goals than Jesus (4) and Nketiah (4) combined. He also has more than Weghorst (0) and Martial (3) combined, so he wouldn’t be a bad option for free this summer.
