(Image courtesy of @Patrice_Creative)
Before the 1998 World Cup, Romario famously said: “Strikers are egotists. We are selfish. We have to be.”
This quote perfectly illustrates the role of the centravanti. The number nine is arguably the hardest position on the pitch. The art of goalscoring is not an easy task and the master marksmen in history are extremely treasured.
Across the history of the game, the players nearer the top of the pitch are normally the players the fans pay the most money to see. The players that are most discussed and desired. The players that get the most accolades. The players that dominate the back pages and the players trending the most on social media.
With this description of number nines, you can clearly see why Romario believe that the egotistical nature of forwards is a necessary requirement to be a successful striker.
Arsenal have had mixed fortunes when it has come to their luck in acquiring strikers in the last 25 years. They have had their fair amount of hits and misses with just as many legendary marksmen donning the red of North London as extremely forgettable leaders of the line who left Arsenal in a whimper.
Before 2000, the Gunners had signed two Frenchman and an English ex-amateur footballer from Crystal Palace in Ian Wright, Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry. These three wonderful men ended up scoring a combined 441 goals in 772 appearances, with two of the trio breaking the record for all-time goals scored for the club. Not bad for a combined £16.4 million.
The King remained on the throne until 2007, at which point Arsene Wenger had already purchased several young knights battling to take his throne at the new Emirates Stadium.
Electrifying Dutch winger turned striker Robin Van Persie joined from Feyenoord in July 2004, Togolese frontman, Emmanuel Adebayor joined from AS Monaco in January 2006 and then Croatian striker, Eduardo da Silva joined Arsenal in July 2007, the same summer that Henry departed, fresh-off scoring 34 goals in 32 games for Dinamo Zagreb the season prior.
This trio were not as successful as the previous trio. Two of the strikers left the club to join fierce rivals either side of Manchester, and the third was the unfortunate recipient of the one of the worst tackles in Premier League history in February 2008 and never really recovered from it. Nevertheless, the combined 215 goals in 448 appearances between them at a combined cost of £26million, showed great value for money and underlined the success of the transfers.
In the decade that followed the departure of van Persie in 2012, the Gunners had much more misses that hits when it came to signing number nines. Olivier Giroud joined the Gunners that summer, Danny Welbeck and Lucas Perez joined from Manchester United and Deportivo years later, and the final two striker signings of the decade were Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
In the space of 6 years, they had an £151million outlay on six strikers spending an average £30.2million on each player. However, only two of these signings can legitimately say they were undeniable successes. Giroud scored 105 goals for the Gunners and Aubameyang, well we’ll leave that for another day.
Nevertheless, Lacazette and Aubameyang will both be out of the door come this summer which means that now, on the verge of the summer 2022 transfer window, Arsenal are at that point again. The exciting moment in the Arsenal cycle when they must acquire a new egotist.
The first striker acquired under the Arteta and Edu regime will be heavily dependent on the profile they are looking for. According to reports, the Gunners will be looking for two strikers. One, a forward who can lead the line as well as be deployed on either wing as a multifaceted forward, and the other being a much more archetypal front man. Taller, stronger, an aerial threat and a base of which Arsenal’s youthful frontline can play off of in a Lacazettian manner.
(Graph showing our striker targets goals per game this season)
Eduardo Hagn, believes that Atletico Madrid star, Joao Felix would be ideal for the Gunners.
The Chilean journalist said: “I think Mendes will try to find him a way our of Atletico this summer and he would be a sensational addition to our young of players.
“He is my top target for centre forward and he would be a real game changer.”
Mitch Peotter believes the Gunners should sign two players to add some variability to their attacking front line next season and would like to see the Gunners move Lille forward, Jonathan David.
The Pain in the Arsenal writer said: “His ability to drop deeper and get involved in link-up play as well as use his pace and finishing ability to get into the box and finish chances would make him a great signing.
"I have been a massive fan of him for a while and I think that he would be a great fit in the team.
“The biggest worry with him is that he has not played as much as a lone number nine and has primarily been deployed as second striker.
Rohan Jivan believes Arsenal should prioritise the conventional frontman.
The Football London writer said: “We should go for someone who possess significant quality inside the opposite box. The major issue this season has been the lack of cutting edge when chances arise and our 2-0 defeat to Liverpool is a great example to illustrate this.
“Essentially we need a striker who is confident in front of goal, has technical security and physicality so that Ramsdale has someone he can target when we are under pressure, and this would give us variety in how we attack.”
His prime target? Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen.
Jivan said: “He is technically competent, a physical presence, an outlet and a confident operator in front of goal.
“Unfortunately, I can’t envisage Napoli selling him for anything less than £85-£90million, but he would certainly elevate the current Arsenal team.
If it were down to me, Arsenal are in desperate need a front man. The exceptional crossing ability of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli goes to waste with Lacazette who regularly fails to get into the box and when he does is not big enough to get onto these crosses. A taller striker is crucial in capitalising on these golden chances that we regularly create.
(Graph showing our striker targets shots on target and shot creating actions per 90)
Lacazette’s impressive link-up play exemplifies the importance of having a striker that can retain the ball in tight areas and effectively bring other members of the attack into an offensive sequence. His 8 assists this season is not an easy feat.
On the other hand, Arsenal cannot press efficiently with Lacazette up front, and even though Eddie Nketiah has recently shown what the future for Arsenal with a mobile striker might look like, imagine having a striker as effective at pressing as Nketiah to also have the ability to reliably put the ball in the back of the net in his weaponry.
(Graph showing our striker targets matches played and successful pressure percentage)
For me, Tammy Abraham ticks all the boxes. Fresh-off a 24-goal season for Roma, the England international would be a great signing in my opinion.
Victor Osimhen has missed 39 games since moving to Italy in 2020. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has missed 21 games in that time while Abraham has missed only 10. He has played the most 90 minutes compared to our other striker targets and also has more shot creating actions than all of them bar Felix.
He also crucially has the highest number of successful pressures than any of our other targets which has become a fundamental element of Arteta’s Arsenal. Aubameyang had to do it. Lacazette cannot do it to the intensity that Arteta wishes and therefore Nketiah has taken on that burden.
Additionally, the price is a key factor in my choice. Alexander Isak, Osimhen and Darwin Nunez all have reported released clauses above £80million pounds; a huge transfer outlay for strikers who have either never played in the Premier League and may need a settling in period, are coming off the back of disappointing seasons or have a history of niggling injury problems.
Tammy has none of these problems and at a reported cost of £67m, seems like a no-brainer for the Gunners. He is the same age as our oldest signing from last season, Ben White and like the ex-Brighton defender is an established England international. He has excellent hold-up and linkup play, impressive pressing numbers, remarkable aerial ability, and has also provided a noteworthy four assists this season.
With Arsenal needing at least two forwards this summer, a midfielder and a full-back ideally, Abraham (supplemented with a Gabriel Jesus type multifaceted forward) would be an intelligent and exciting acquisition in my opinion.
Let’s see who Arteta and Edu decide to go for.
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