One of the biggest topics of conversation amongst Arsenal fans in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign is again the topic of a pure dyed in the wool striker, as although a more traditional forward is not really manager Mikel Arteta’s cup of tea, our failure to secure one is again seriously costing us at the top of the pitch.
For fans who like a flutter and use the william hill mobile app, the recent match with Aston Villa would have seen them hedge their bets on whether we would hold out for the win by full time, and of course, we did not.
We are again flying high in the Premier League table, but despite dominating almost every game we have played so far this season, we have already dropped a massive number of points having been held to eight draws (joint second highest in the division) and the vast majority of those draws saw us create more than enough chances to have taken all three points, but we are just so wasteful and we keep failing to kill games off properly.
Ultimately, this is why we sit second in the table again and despite having played one more game than Liverpool who occupy top spot, we already trail them by six points. The fact we are tied on 44 points with Nottingham Forest is just bizarre, and with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola’s struggles, this really should have been our year to do more than just finish as runners up – but if something does not change that again looks like it will be the best we can manage.
With the January transfer window edging towards a close, we may finally be rectifying the issue as we have been linked with a number of top strikers, and the rumour mill keeps cycling back round to Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres.
The 26 year old, 26 capped Swedish international striker knows England well having previously been with Brighton and Hove Albion and Coventry City, but he has really made his mark in Portugal and proven himself to have grown into an incredibly clinical striker following his arrival in 2023.
In his first year at Sporting he scored 29 league goals in 33 appearances for them, and his form shows no sign of waning as this season he has scored 21 league goals in only 17 matches, and Arsenal are just one of the clubs who are said to be paying significant attention to him this month.
If recent reports are to be believed, it is being claimed that Arteta has somewhat relented on the issue given Gabriel Jesus’ injury, and the simple fact that Kai Havertz has proven himself to lack the necessary consistency in the role. Therefore, he and the board are now in agreement that Gyokeres suits our playing plan, and is a far better financial option with a nod to Financial Fair Play requirements when compared with an attacker like Alexander Isak.
Like most transfer links involving Arsenal though, we will simply have to see if anything actually comes of it.
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