Arsenal have been tipped by journalist Charles Watts to spent big on a new centre-forward next summer. The Gunners will look to improve their options in the number nine position.
At the moment, Gabriel Jesus is Mikel Arteta’s first choice striker. The Brazil international was signed from Manchester City in the summer of 2022. While the 26-year-old has added quality to their ranks, he has struggled to find the back of the net consistently and has been hampered by injuries.
Apart from Jesus, Arsenal also have Eddie Nketiah at their disposal. The 24-year-old has started the new season on a fine note and was recently handed his maiden call-up to England’s senior squad.
But the Gunners could seemingly do with more quality up front. Speaking on Inside Arsenal (h/t football.london), journalist Charles Watts feels a new number nine will be a priority for the North London side in 2024.
Watts says Arsenal will ‘definitely’ look to sign another forward and suggests the Gunners will spend ‘big’ to strengthen the key area next summer.
“If Arsenal are going to do something big next summer it’s going to be a striker. That’s the area they will definitely look to improve.
“I think they need to improve it as well. Maybe not improve on what they’ve got, but improve their options, it would be nice to have another different option as a central striker.”
As per the report, Brentford’s Ivan Toney is one of the names linked with a move to Arsenal. The former Peterborough United star has been impressive since the Bees got promoted to the Premier League. However, he is suspended until January at the moment and is being tipped to join Chelsea.
Ambitious targets
Therefore, Arsenal need to keep their options open and Football London says they have already held talks over a sensational swoop for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen. The Daily Mail claims it will take at least £130m to sign Osimhen, so Arsenal would certainly need to ‘go big’ to land him.
The Nigeria international was the Serie A outfit’s top goalscorer last season as they lifted the Scudetto. Therefore, he would be a sensational addition to Arteta’s squad if they could pull it off.
In the previous campaign, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli scored the most goals for Arsenal. The trio scored 15 goals each in all competitions.
While it is good to have multiple players finding the back of the net regularly, the presence of a prolific number nine in a team cannot be understated. Erling Haaland’s influence at Manchester City is an example.
Therefore, Arsenal would arguably improve themselves further under Arteta with a reliable striker. But it remains to be seen whether the Gunners will be able to pull off an audacious swoop for Osimhen or be forced to look elsewhere.
