This was not the case Arsenal season this year.
Mikel Arteta The team was handed a nightmare set of combinations to start the match Premier League campaign. After that, they had to deal with several suspensions, but captain Martin Odegaard missed almost two months of football due to an injury he sustained while on international duty.
Once the Norwegian returned, the north Londoners looked their best, but back-to-back league draws against Fulham and Everton once again prevented the team from gaining any momentum.
Finally, to wrap it all up, the Gunners boy and undoubtedly the most important player, Bukayo Sakait is now He is set to miss “several weeks” After suffering a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
It would be fair to say that at the moment, without their magical winger, the prospect of Arsenal finally winning the title seems a million miles away.
However, with the transfer window set to begin next month, the club have already been linked with a player of the year who could be the perfect solution to their current problem.
Arsenal Interior Solutions
So, before we get to which player Arsenal could sign next month to solve Saka's absence, it's worth looking at possible solutions within the squad, and for our money, two solutions seem the most likely.
The first is what we saw after the Englishman was substituted on Saturday: Gabriel Martinelli playing on the right flank.
The former Ituano gem has not been at his best this season, but when played down the stretch at Selhurst Park, he looked genuinely dangerous for the first time in a while and managed to keep away the chance that Gabriel Jesus missed in the second half. .
However, as the 23-year-old is naturally right-footed, it could change how that side of the pitch operates, so another option Arteta could take is to field left-footed Ethan Nwaneri there.
The 17-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in the league at the moment, and while the manager would likely prefer to ease his position into the team more carefully, this crisis could be the perfect opportunity for him to establish himself as an important first-team player.
Furthermore, although he has mainly played in midfield for the first team this season, he… He has some experience playing out wide Since his time in the youth ranks.
With all that said, none of these options are ideal, so what the club could, and perhaps should, do instead is sign someone next month.
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More specifically, they should sign a star they are already linked to.
Arsenal star should sign
So, getting straight to the point, the player Arsenal should be looking to sign next month is Atalanta star Ademola Lookman.
The good news for fans is that the club They have been constantly linked With the former Everton player since the summer.
However, it would likely be an expensive deal, as some reports suggest the Serie A side would do so They are asking around 70 million euros for their manwhich turns out to be around £58 million.
Now, this is undoubtedly a lot of money to spend on a player in January, but based on his form for the Bergamo side over the past few years, it will be more than worth it.
For example, in just 45 games last seasonFormer Nigerian international Professional Nedum Onuoha dubbed “One of the hottest prospects in European football,” he scored 17 goals – three of which came in the Europa League final – and provided ten assists.
This has been an incredible season for the 27-year-old.
In only 20 games, and he's already scored He has scored 12 goals and provided five assists, meaning he is averaging a goal contribution every 1.17 games.
|
Lookman's final form |
||
|---|---|---|
|
season |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Appearances |
45 |
20 |
|
Objectives |
17 |
12 |
|
Helps |
10 |
5 |
|
Goal shares in every match |
0.60 |
0.85 |
As well as being a lethal striker, he is a Wandswarth-born dynamo It's also incredibly versatile.
Therefore, he can easily play Saka on the right while the Hale End icon is injured and then provide competition for the entire frontline when he returns.
Ultimately, while there is no perfect solution to losing your best player, signing Lookman next month would be the closest Arsenal will get.
