Arsenal were held to a draw by Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday. The Gunners have now scored just three goals in their last three games.
Sunday’s result now means Mikel Arteta’s men are five points off the top of the Premier League table. Bukayo Saka’s opener against Liverpool is the only goal Arsenal have scored from open play in their last three games.
An own goal against Shakhtar and a set piece goal from Mikel Merino are the other two goals. The gunners have had issues creating and converting chances recently with the absence of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, who just returned to action.
Despite legitimate concerns over the effectiveness of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as the team’s main strikers, Mikel Arteta still has faith in the German upfront.
Arsenal target Juventus striker
News from Italy claims Arsenal are on of the club’s interested in signing Dusan Vlahovic. TuttoJuve reports that interest in the Serbian striker has increased as the 24-year old has stalled on signing a new deal.
Juventus brought Vlahovic for a reported €83million fee in 2022, and the striker has scored 26 league goals in his last two seasons. The bianconeri have had a great start to this campaign; unbeaten in the Serie A and having lost just one game since August.
Vlahovic has been a big part of that; the Serbian has scored eight goals in all competitions. Juventus are keen on renewing Vlahovic, whose current deal at the club expires in 2026.
If Vlahovic does refuse to extend his current deal with Juventus, it is reported that their asking price would be around £66million.
Should the gunners stick with Havertz and Jesus?
Kai Havertz has proved his transfer fee at Arsenal and continues to be an important player in the team. Gabriel Jesus on the other hand, has been inconsistent and rarely fit since he joined the club.
Replacing Jesus would be a no-brainer, but a £66million signing would not like to be on the bench for Kai Havertz. Despite the German not being a true striker, he has had an impressive goal tally.
Arsene Wenger has said that Havertz has a different skillset to most of Europe’s elite strikers:
‘Havertz is more of a contributor to the all around game, defensively he works very hard, offensively he scores less goals than Kane and will never score the number of goals Kane scores. He’s more of a 10-and-a-half or a nine-and-a-half.’
At many top clubs in Europe, the main striker and the back up are often similar when it comes to quality. So Arsenal possibly signing Vlahovic in addition to Kai Havertz would not really be a problem.