Gabriel Jesus can’t be trusted as Arsenal’s lead striker next season. Arsenal legend Ian Wright argues that the Brazilian hasn’t been as sharp as he should be playing the Arsenal No. 9.
“I think what its shown in the last four or five games is how hard it is to chase down Manchester City. But you do need the squad to be able to do it. Today you saw Arsenal needed something different, perhaps a focal number nine,” said Wright on PL productions.
Though it is a mystery who this focal No. 9 could be, the Gunners have been linked with a move for a physical striker in the summer. A striker who can score 20+ goals in the league and make defenders tense.
Another ex-Arsenal pundit, Paul Merson, noted Ivan Toney as the striker Arteta’s project needed a few weeks ago.
“If I was Arsenal, I would take him,” he told Sky Sports, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
“He suits them down to the ground. Sometimes, you cannot go long with Jesus, but you can go long with Toney. He is good in the air; he has got a very good brain. He can see a picture.
“He is not Harry Kane, but he can do a Harry Kane-type job where he can come off the centre halves, he can pass through, and he is tidy.”
Though by now it is certain that a move for Toney, who is on an 8-month ban after being found guilty by the FA for a betting offence, is impossible, other options should be considered.
Getting such a player on board may be bad news for Jesus, but Arteta has reached a point where he ought to be ruthless. Even so, Jesus’ versatility could see him play on the wings sometimes; he could even fight for his starting role as the lead striker in certain games.
But now that Toney is out of the question, who should Arsenal be looking at now?
Daniel O
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Vlahvohic is the only name that comes to my mind . Perhaps we wait till Jan to get Tony as to me he is ideally suited for our requirements
The other option is to give Balagaon a chance
Jesus has played 2,257 minutes in 32 games for Arsenal this season across EPL, Europa and League Cup.
He has scored 10 goals and 7 assists, that is:
– 1 goal every 226 minutes (2.5 games)
– 1 assist every 332 minutes (3.7 games)
– 1 goal involvement every 133 minutes (1.5 games)
Simply not good enough.
Eddie has played in 130 1st team games for Arsenal already, how many more chances must he get??? Not good enough
Now do we gamble on Balogun that is a completely unknown entity in the EPL? Maybe he should’ve gotten many of the chances that Eddie was given.
If we do buy a new striker what becomes of Eddie, Jesus and Balogun? If we sell I would guess it would be Eddie but who would buy him with a new contract on 100k/week? Or will we do our normal move and recoup zero money and let the contract just run down?
MA/Edu have gotten us into a real pickle here and the problem is is that we need a DM as a priority so we probably won’t have the funds for a top striker.
Why not Mitrovich ?? Yes he does tend to be hot headed but that can be controlled ? We can also ship out a couple of our discards to Fulham.
Hos contract expires in 2026, zero chance Fulham will let him go because he’s vital to them.
As our limited budget may be ring fenced for strengthening our central midfield, and quite rightly so, we will not be able to shop at Harrods for well proven ,expensive central strikers.However that does not mean there are not potential gems available nearer to home which could provide real value for money.In Evan Ferguson, Brighton have unearthed a star of the future and at Coventry, Viktor Gyokeres has impressed me as a less expensive option who combines physical strength to hold up the ball with intelligent running between lines and an ability to finish on the ground and in the air.Either of these two would represent sound and potentially rewarding investments who could well flourish at Arsenal imo.
While I do not really doubt either of them, I think that for a team competing in the CL with hopes of reaching the quarters or semis, the risk of playing potential talents is too much. Rather we go for a proven striker
Osimhen is preferred although I understand he will cost too much, even for us
Vlahovic is the other but I, like many others have reservations considering he rejected us outrightly before
Grandad, agree with you that the Championship is a resource, which Arsenal can’t afford to neglect. It is one of the most competitive and difficult leagues to win snd forwards are up against strong hard and often experienced defenders to score against.
I don’t think Toney is or should be counted as unavailable. If anything he is more available than before. Fewer teams would want to buy him. His price would be cheaper than otherwise/ Brentford can’t turn down an offer now which they may have been able to before. A cheeky 40 to 50 mil could do it for the fifth highest goal scorer in the last two seasons. He would be eager to hit the ground running. He can train with the squad by September so by January he may be very familiar with how to play with his new teammates He won’t immediately cause a headache for Jesus who however will know that by January Toney would be an option. If Balogun is retained and Nketiah is dropped you actually can up till January rotate Toney and Balogun then after January throw Toney in the mix. To be honest i’d still sign him. My only issue is that his gambling habit goes back 4 years. He may need Gamblers Anonymous or something like that
Let us stick with GJ and Eddie while we see how we can strike a deal for Ivan toney if that is possible. The guy is my best best because from January that is a second chapter of the league. Which will give us a unique focal front.
It’s not “impossible” to buy Toney, should Brentford want to sell him, we might even get him cheaper than if he were available to play or train immediately, and we do have some decent goal scorers, but if it has to be a striker then go for him rather than some of the overseas rubbish I’m continuously reading of here on JA.
Proven Premier League strikers trump trash!!
Most of us agree on Tony . I think we should get him even if he starts only in Jan .
If we go deep in CL that’s the time we want him and normally 2nd half of the season we always ran out of option
Interestingly, both Toney and Watkins plied their trade with Brentford in the Championship before graduating to the Premier League where they have done well.
Even more interesting is. You have to go back 23 years to find a striker who plied his trade in the championship and became a premier league golden boot winner, Kevin Phillips.
Grandad, agree and also James Vardy comes to mind.
Am I the only one who wouldn’t mind Dominic Calvert Lewin?
Almost certainly, yes you are!