Despite starting the season slower than they did last year, Arsenal are once again in the midst of a Premier League title race. In fact, as things stand, they are currently leading it.
Their win over Brighton & Hove Albion over the weekend showed them at their very best while also making their biggest weakness impossible to ignore – the lack of a clinical striker.
Mikel Arteta’s men had 26 shots, nine of which were on target, yet they managed to score just two goals. This problem clearly isn’t lost on the club themselves, and so, with January just around the corner, a new striker is most certainly on the menu.
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Therefore, fans should be excited at the prospect of the club repeating their Declan Rice masterstroke in signing a player Chelsea let go, Bournemouth’s increasingly lethal number nine, Dominic Solanke.
Arsenal transfer news – Dominic Solanke
According to The Mirror, Arsenal are on the lookout for a new striker in the January transfer window, and while they have maintained their interest in Brentford’s Ivan Toney, they have also identified Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke as a realistic alternative to the Bees frontman.
The report has revealed that the Gunners refuse to pay over the odds for Toney, have been genuinely impressed with Solanke’s performances this season, and hold a strong belief that there is much more to come from him as he grows in confidence at the Premier League level.
The Cherries are said to value their star forward at around £50m, which, while not cheap, is an attainable price for a massive club such as Arsenal, and with former Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves telling Premier League Productions (via The Mirror) “I would take him at Manchester United, all day”, he might well be worth it.
A Declan Rice repeat for Arsenal
Now, Rice is one of the best midfielders in the world and arguably the best player at Arsenal this season, so to suggest that Solanke could come to the club and have the same level of impact would be absurd.
However, their moves would share a fundamental similarity: Chelsea got rid of both when they were playing youth football, Rice heading to West Ham and Solanke to Liverpool. Rice notably left the Blues aged just 14, while Solanke departed aged 19 in 2017 having featured only once for their first team.
If the former Chelsea striker arrived at the club and helped fire them to the title, even if his goalscoring form tailed off slightly, his history of being released by a rival would likely endear him even more to the fans, making his goals feel even better.
With that said, how does the “dream” striker, as described by former manager Gary O’Neil, compare to Arsenal’s two strikers, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah?
The former Liverpool man does reasonably well in most relevant statistics, coming in a close second to Jesus for shots on target and non-penalty expected goals and assists.
Dominic Solanke vs Gabriel Jesus vs Eddie Nketiah |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Stats (per 90) |
Solanke |
Jesus |
Nketiah |
Non-Penalty Expected Goals |
0.53 |
0.48 |
0.40 |
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists |
0.60 |
0.62 |
0.45 |
Progressive Passes |
1.58 |
2.77 |
1.40 |
Shots on Target |
1.01 |
1.45 |
0.86 |
Aerial Duels Won |
1.77 |
1.61 |
1.08 |
All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season |
He excels, perhaps unsurprisingly, in his pure non-penalty expected goal figure and in the number of aerial duels he wins per 90.
While he might not be the most exciting or flashy addition to the team, the fact that he has already scored nine goals in the league this season and looks set to score more should be enough to convince fans that Solanke could be the clinical number nine they need to end their two-decade title hunt. Just look at how Rice has done since his Chelsea exit – it’s certainly fuel for further motivation to succeed in the game.