Arsenal set to bid for "monstrous" striker

Arsenal are stuttering this season and not making the most of key chances in which they could catch current Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The Gunners have now drawn their last two games, against Fulham who have impressed this term, and relegation strugglers Everton, finding themselves six points behind the Reds.

It has certainly been a frustrating time for Mikel Arteta’s side, who have not really found their rhythm in recent weeks. They have become almost too focused on set-pieces, and have struggled to create much from open play.

It has been a real issue for Arteta and his coaching staff, but perhaps there needs to be another striker aside from Kai Havertz, and have been linked with someone ahead of the January window.

Arsenal target Serie A striker

The player in question here is Juventus centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian striker has impressed this term for the Old Lady and has now been linked with a potential move to the Emirates Stadium in January.

At least, that is according to a report from CaughtOffside, who say that Arsenal think Vlahovic ‘would be the perfect striker’ for Arteta’s current squad and that they ‘are set to make a move’ for the forward.

However, they will not be alone in their chase for the Serb. Premier League rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are all interested, with French giants Paris Saint-Germain also linked.

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In terms of the price of the 24-year-old striker, the report from CaughtOffside suggests he’ll cost upwards of £58m. That would see him become the Gunners’ fourth most expensive signing of all time, as per Transfermarkt.

Why Vlahovic would be a good signing

Although it would be a costly investment for the Gunners, there is no doubting what Vlahovic could bring to their squad; goals. It is something they have struggled with this term, scoring 29 times with an expected goals tally of 34.24xG, underachieving by 5.24 goals in total according to Understat.

Lucky for Arteta’s side, Vlahovic has a knack for scoring and could be the man to help fix their problems. He has 11 goals from 19 games in the Serie A and the Champions League this term, which is more than any Arsenal player across competitions.

He recently scored against Manchester City, finding the back of the net once in a 2-0 win at the Allianz Stadium. It was exactly the kind of goal that would go down well with the Arsenal faithful, a striker fighting for the ball in the penalty area, winning a header in and firing home. A proper centre-forward’s finish.

There are certainly comparisons that can be made between Vlahovic and his opposite number at Man City, Erling Haaland. The Norweigan has been the bane of Arsenal’s problems over the past few seasons, as they failed to conquer the dominant Cityzens in the title race. He’s scored 76 Premier League goals in just 81 games so far.

Erling Haaland in action for Manchester City

With that in mind, they could be set to bring in a striker who is statistically similar to the City number nine via FBref. Firstly, it is worth noting that the Juve man has played the equivalent of 12.8 full 90 minutes this term, but Haaland has played slightly more, with 15 full 90-minute games.

In terms of the numbers, the pair are extremely close when it comes to expected goals per 90 minutes. Vlahovic is averaging 0.72 xG and Haaland slightly more with 0.86 xG. Arsenal perhaps need someone who can fashion chances from nowhere. Juve’s striker averages 1.95 shot-creating actions per game, and the City centre-forward slightly more with two.

Vlahovic vs. Haaland key stats compared
Stat (per 90)	Vlahovic	Haaland
Goals	0.55	0.87
Goals per shot on target	0.21	0.33
Shots	3.51	4.54
Expected goals	0.72	0.86
Shot creating actions	1.95	2
Stats from FBref

Signing Vlahovic could be exactly the signing Arteta’s side needs to turn his season around. They will be desperate to make up the points on Liverpool and catch Arne Slot’s side, and the striker, described as “monstrous” by football statistician Statman Dave, could be the man to help them reach the summit of the Premier League.