When it rains, it pours, and that certainly seems to be the case for Arsenal this season.
Over the last week and a bit, Mikel Arteta’s side have dropped points away to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, lost the first leg of their League Cup semi-final against Newcastle United, and then, to top it all off, lost on penalties to a ten-man Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Yesterday’s defeat felt like a hammer blow to the Gunners’ chances of winning a trophy this season, and while there were poor performances across the pitch from the hosts, the player who has since received the most criticism has been Kai Havertz.
FA Cup
Manchester United (H)
1-1 (L on Pens)
League Cup
Newcastle United (H)
2-0 (L)
Premier League
Brighton & Hove Albion(A)
1-1 (D)
Premier League
Brentford (A)
3-1 (W)
Premier League
Ipswich Town (H)
1-0 (W)
The German international continued his poor form in front of goal from the mid-week defeat and missed a handful of brilliant chances to give his side the lead, so recent reports linking the club to a far more prolific centre-forward who could perhaps save their season should excite fans.
Arsenal chase free-scoring forward
According to a recent report from the Independent’s Chief Football Writer, Miguel Delaney, Arsenal are keen on Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres.
In fact, according to the journalist, the Gunners’ have a ‘growing interest’ in the Swedish superstar.
However, fans might want to pump the breaks somewhat, as Delaney goes on to explain that the former Coventry City ace would cost around £80m, which is a fee the club ‘would rather spend in the summer.’
It would be a lot of money to spend halfway through a campaign, but given the circumstances and precipice on which the club feels like it is standing, it’s money they must spend, as not only would Gyokeres be a massive upgrade on Havertz, but he might also just be able to save the team’s season.
How Gyokeres compares to Havertz
So, with Gabriel Jesus looking like he might be out for some time with yet another serious injury, Havertz is undoubtedly Arsenal’s starting striker, meaning that if Gyokeres joined this month, the German would be his most significant competition.
Unfortunately for the former Chelsea ace, and despite the good work he has done for the Gunners over the last year or so, he comes out as a distant second-best when compared to the Sporting CP star.
For example, in just 30 appearances this season, totalling 2570 minutes, the free-scoring “monster,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, has scored 32 goals and provided six assists, meaning that he’s currently averaging 1.26 goal involvements every game, or one every 67.6 minutes.
In contrast, the Gunners’ number 29 has scored 12 goals and provided three assists in 27 appearances, totalling 2232 minutes, which comes out to 0.55 goal involvements per game, or one every 148.8 minutes.
The comparison continues to be one-sided when we take a look under the hood and examine their underlying numbers.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.87
0.61
Actual Non-Penalty G+As
0.95
0.55
Progressive Carries
3.99
1.52
Progressive Passes
1.61
2.99
Progressive Passes Received
10.7
5.24
Shots
4.10
2.37
Shots on Target
1.78
1.78
Passing Accuracy
70.6%
79.4%
Key Passes
2.02
0.85
Shot-Creating Actions
4.93
2.31
Goal-Creating Actions
0.89
0.12
Successful Take-Ons
2.02
0.43
Aerial Duels Won
1.43
3.17
For example, in practically every metric, the Stockholm-born poacher comes out on top, metrics including but not limited to expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots and shots on target, goal and shot-creating actions, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, while Havertz has been a valuable goalscorer for Arsenal over the last year and a half, his performances over the last week have made the North Londoners’ need for a superstar striker impossible to ignore.
Therefore, although it’ll be incredibly expensive, the club must bring Gyokeres to the Emirates this month.
Not only would he be an instant upgrade on the German, but he might also be good enough to save the Gunners’ season.
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