Arsenal needs a striker in January, but they shouldn’t be tempted to sign Dusan Vlahovic. It has been claimed that they can boost their chances of winning the league if they recruit a reliable No. 9 to make them efficient in attack.
A number of strikers have been linked, one of them being Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, who, as per a report by Teamtalk, is available for £50 million.
Remember, at the start, I said Arsenal ought not to waste their time going for Vlahovic? Well, here are the reasons why:
He could be an obstacle to Arsenal recruiting their top transfer target, whom I believe is Ivan Toney.
He is not an upgrade to Eddie Nketiah. The Hale End Graduate is way better than him.
As per Sofascore, Vlahovic has a 6.94 average game rating, while Nketiah has a 7.07.
Nketiah has a better xG than him; Arsenal’s No. 14 has 3.07 xG; and the Juve man has 0.47. Nketiah is also more likely to provide an assist for his teammates than Vlahovic; the Arsenal man has an xA (expected assists) of 0.31. Other than that, Nketiah can link-up play way better than Vlahovic (0.15).
With the Serbian also likely to need time to adapt to the fast pace of the Premier League, he may not instantly hit the ground running.
As you can see, there are a lot of indications why Arsenal shouldn’t gamble on Vlahovic.
Additionally, the ex-Fiorentina man snubbed Arsenal for Juventus last year. Why is Juve keen to sell a player who was tipped as the next great striker? Arsenal should just ignore the chance of signing him. I don’t know about you, but for me, it is hard to see what Vlahovic offers better than any of Arsenal’s current strikers.
Daniel O
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I beg to differ, first to comment he’s a poor man Haaland if you ask me.
He is young with a high ceiling, he’s a prolific goal scorer that may have held back by his present club, forget about his poor choice of club that didn’t match his playing style.
Arsenal haven’t had such prolific goal scorer since the legendary Frenchman had left the club.
What of Robin Van Percy? Is he not prolific. I agree Vlahovic remains a good CF regardless of the stats presented. My sentiments is he once rejected Arsenal when we were considering him seriously. I would prefer Ivan Toney he was an Arsenal fan as a child and wouldn’t need time to adapt to Epl.
Wow since stats rule, how about asking Juve to swap Vlahovic for Nketiah and pay us a few million on top of that, given the latter is such a superior striker stats wise? Stats can be useful but can also be misleading
I was thinking the same thing myself. Laughed out loud when I read Daniel’s opinion that Nketiah “…was way better than him.”
1. The players are in different leagues
2. Nketiah surrounded by better players at Arsenal than Dusan at Juve.
One can argue about “upgrade” or not over Nketiah; debate goals, chances, creativity, etc… opinions will vary.
However Dusan can offer things Nketiah never will; holdup play, strength not to get bullied in the box, and an aerial threat in the box.
This is versatility, or a plan B option to Jesus, something Nketiah has never offered.
Something like 150 appearances for Nketiah, 5 years at the club and some still talk about potential and getting opportunities.
In 5 years has he shown himself to develop beyond a poacher? I would argue no. He can’t reliably dribble opponents, create chances for himself or others, or be a consistent goal threat.
Don’t see anyone making an argument to justify Martinelli, Saka, or Odegaard’s importance in the team. Wonder why that is?
Some fans view football like it’s some form of data analysis. Everything is spelt out in terms of stats. What they don’t realize is that stats can be a very raw form of analysis and can also be deceiving when it’s garbage in garbage out.
Ultimately, we as football fans need to reflect and ask ourselves that if stats is such a reliable way of rating footballers, why do clubs still need scouts in this day and age when stats is so readily available
£50 million? and rest! I don’t rate him since he’s been at The Old Lady, but then again I’m not the manager who may see something special in him.
I’ve seen crazier things. Spending 65 million on Havertz and not having a clear idea where he fits in. Arteta’s words not mine.
Based on that transfer I don’t rule anything out.
Not to forget his actions against Kosovo which led to PSG ultras threatening to cut off three of his fingers if he ever plays for them (as was rumoured). He’s publically politically motivated against Kosovo and his actions were interpreted as references to so called “Serbian supremacy over Kosovo.
We really, really do not want such a hateful person playing for Arsenal, even if he were a 30 goal per season player, and I’m so surprised that we originally made a bid for him.
And TBH I would have thought that Daniel O would have researched his subject more thoroughly.
I guess we know why Xhaka had to go now. Can’t see him making those statements and getting away with it if Granit were still at the club
That would have been an issue. Just imagine those two in the same dressing room.
Had Arsenal sped the £69 mill and bought Dusan Vlohovic, maybe we would have been out of sight all things considered
Any player who snubbed Arsenal in the recent past is not worth a second glance. It’s not as if the man is painting the Serie A red with goals anyway.
consistent elite prolific goal scorers are very rare
and Vlahovic is not one of them
Haarland yes, Kane yes, Mbappe yes
Vlahovic no, Toney no, Watkins no – in fact they are nowhere near – but still likely to be +£100m
poor value for money
Arsenal have done the right thing focusing on defence, defending as a team from front to back, starve the opposition of any opportunities
and it is working, e.g. this season against City we have drawn once and won once, versus last season where we were blown away three times, and they have the best striker in the world
none of the strikers linked with Arsenal hold a candle to Haarland, but we still won
it is not only about strikers simpletons
Osimhen, Boniface and guirassy are some of the best strikers to consider.