DECISION MADE: Arteta now ready to drop Gabriel Jesus on bench as Edu eyes world-class striker by JANUARY
Arsenal have played host to a magnitude of talent over the years, with Mikel Arteta’s current crop of stars posing the potential to add to the rich history in north London.
The Spaniard’s young side fell agonisingly short to treble winners Manchester City last season in their quest for the Premier League title, with five points separating the top two in May.
This campaign marks 20 years since Arsene Wenger’s undefeated class of 2003/04 walked away as champions, which ironically also marks the last time that Arsenal were crowned the best in England.
With reference to being unbeaten, Arteta’s side have started the 2023/24 term in an encouraging light, and are yet to lose in the Premier League, telling of the youthful squad’s desire to right their wrongs of last season to once again challenge at the top.
The motivation to go again after the theatrics of the title race was revived in the summer, as Arsenal welcomed four new faces to the Emirates in the bid to close the gap on City, with over £200m spent to bolster the quality of the squad.
There is a long way to go with only eight games played so far in the 2023/24 league campaign, and seemingly a long way to go until Arteta’s squad is considered as perfected with the Spaniard suspected to already be considering his options in future markets.
Despite welcoming Gabriel Jesus last summer to good effect, the Gunners remain with just two recognisable out-and-out centre-forwards, with the Brazilian and Eddie Nketiah those trusted with the role of leading the line.
A new striker could be the margin that fires Arsenal to long-overdue major silverware, with reports suggesting the calibre of frontman the north Londoners could aim for.
Who could Arsenal sign in January?
As reported by renowned journalist David Ornstein via The Athletic’s Q&A segment, relayed by afcstuff on Twitter X, a host of potential names were listed as those that the club are “likely to be studying” along with other top sides.
Those named as potential hot spots in the window were Lautaro Martinez, Evan Ferguson, Benjamin Sesko, Victor Boniface and, perhaps most interestingly, Victor Osimhen.
The art of capturing an established goalscorer is not easy, but the rewards are monstrous, as highlighted by Manchester City’s signing of Erling Haaland last summer, who led the club to their treble win.
For Arsenal, the Gunners must now follow City’s path and look to recruit a top-quality striker, and it wouldn’t be the first time that Napoli sharpshooter Osimhen has been named in the same sentence as the north Londoners.
In August, a report from Football Transfers suggested that Arsenal were keen to sign the Nigerian in the summer of 2024, claiming that the club had held ‘initial talks’ over the 24-year-old’s career path.
There has recently been added speculation over the forward’s future in Naples, after a controversial video was posted by the club’s media team in relation to the forward, seeing the Nigerian delete his social media posts with affiliation to Napoli.
While the situation has been somewhat resolved between player and club, the hostility remains in what was a dire decision by the media team to sanction such a hideous post in the first place.
Only time will tell if further links to Arsenal and the Premier League materialise, however what is for sure is that whoever captures the forward’s signature next is a very lucky club.
How many goals has Victor Osimhen scored?
In a recorded 201 domestic career appearances, Osimhen has found the net 103 times at the age of just 24, reinforcing just how much of a potent presence he is in the final third.
Aside from Wolfsburg, where he began his career in Europe, the £90k-per-week Nigerian has enjoyed high-scoring streaks wherever he’s played, from Belgium to France to Italy.
Captured by Napoli from LOSC Lille for a reported €50m (£45m) in 2020, the former Ligue 1 talisman has moved mountains in Naples, securing the club the Serie A title last season with his contribution to 31 goals in 32 league appearances.
Scoring 26 and assisting five, Osimhen’s value rocketed as he won the league with Napoli, although it wasn’t the first time that he had experienced a high-scoring tally in Italy.
During his debut campaign in Serie A, the Nigeria international scored ten goals in 24 appearances, followed in the 2021/22 season by 14 goals in 27, all gearing up for his blockbuster individual term in 2022/23.
It’s not just domestically that the forward has made the headlines, as he continues to show his value to the national team, scoring 20 goals in 27 caps so far for the Super Eagles.
