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It is no secret that Arsenal will be in search of a new striker this summer and LOSC Lille’s Canadian star Jonathan David is one player who has been heavily linked over the last few months.
The Canadian has been on Arsenal’s radar for a while now.
He was rumoured to be one of the Gunners’ targets while he was still at Gent, and his performances in France since have made him even more popular amongst fans across the continent.
Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are both set to leave Arsenal at the end of this season so the north London club will ideally need two top-class centre-forwards, and David could well be one of them.
Since his move to Lille from Belgium outfit Gent in the summer of 2020, the £45m-rated star has come on leaps and bounds, although he did endure a difficult start – going on a run of seven games without a goal.
However, in the second half of last season, his form picked up.
Eleven of his 13 league goals in 2020-21 came after the turn of the year, as Lille did the unthinkable by finishing the campaign as French Ligue 1 champions.
This season, Lille have struggled to maintain their form as they currently sit in mid-table in Ligue 1. However, David has continued his tremendous development, matching his scoring exploits from last season.
Back in December last year, Edu held a meeting with the Lille star’s agent, Nick Mavromaras, at London Colney to discuss a possible transfer this summer (Metro). Since then, the 30-time Canadian international hasn’t looked his usual self.
There were very few strikers as prolific as him in the first half of this season. The 22-year-old scored 16 goals in all competitions before Christmas, which is a phenomenal record for someone of his age.
Everyone expected David to kick on and score 25 or even 30 goals this season. Arsenal and other clubs’ interest must have acted as motivation for him to continue firing, but sadly, the young forward’s form has taken a huge dip.
The former Gent man has played 18 times for Lille in all competitions in 2022. Five months into the year now, the Canadian has managed to score just one goal, coming in a 4-0 win over Clermont Foot in Ligue 1 in March.
Call it coincidence or not, it is clear his form has taken a dramatic nosedive since those talks with Edu began in December.
Should Arsenal still sign him? Our thoughts…
Ideally, yes.
Arsenal need two very different yet prolific strikers to solve their woes up front. One of them has to be a target man, who can hold the ball up and link play with his teammates, while the other has to be someone who can run in behind the opponents’ defence and cause problems.
The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Alexander Isak and Ivan Toney who have all been linked with moves to the Emirates in recent months are good fits for the first category, but David, even though he has endured a dismal calendar year, still remains a great option for the Gunners.
An extraordinary unique forward, blessed with great pace, skill, tenaciousness, trickery and acceleration. The Canadian is tremendously versatile too, capable of playing as a no.9, and a no.10. If fast and speedy players are your type, then the Brooklyn-born forward is your man.
The Canadian has excelled in his work-rate and off-the-ball attributes. So far this campaign, he is recording 5.17 successful pressures per 90minutes. He is in the top 15 percent of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues when it comes to pressures off the ball owing to his tremendous energy, enthusiasm and work rate.
His scoring form in Ligue 1 over the past two seasons, and for Canada where he finished second top CONCACAF scorer in World Cup Qualifying with nine goals reaching their first World Cup since 1986, suggests he could score more goals for any of Europe’s top clubs, and Arsenal’s style under Mikel Arteta could certainly fit his mould to a tee.
AND in other news, Arsenal remain interested in £130k-per-week PL star, could be an expensive outlay for KSE
