Arsenal A disappointing season went from bad to worse last night.
Mikel Arteta The team hosted Newcastle United in the first match League Cup The semi-final, which became increasingly important as a result of their weakness Premier League But instead of taking the lead in the first leg, the Gunners suffered a huge shock from the visitors.
There were impressive performances all over the pitch for the Toon, but the clear standout was this Alexander Isaacwhich always was Related to moving to the EmiratesAnd if yesterday's match was an audition, he succeeded in doing so successfully.
However, signing the Swede in the summer, let alone this month, could cost the north Londoners a king's ransom, so recent reports linking them with a replacement number nine shouldn't come as a huge surprise.
Arsenal are targeting a great striker
According to A Latest report of football transfersArsenal have maintained their long-term interest in the Juventus goalscorer Dusan Vlahovic They got a new opportunity to sign him this month.
The report revealed that this was because of the Serbian monster Wage of approximately £352,000 per week With no progress in renegotiating a lower salary, the Old Lady are happy to sell him this month to avoid him leaving for less in the summer or worse, for free next year.
According to the report, this desire to get the towering striker off the books has led to the Torino side reducing their asking price to just €55m this month, which works out to around £46m.
Now, that's still a big fee, and few people would argue that it's quite on the same level as Isak, but given Vlahovic's impressive ability and production over the last few seasons, it could be a deal that allows the club to spend elsewhere to boot.
How does Vlahovic compare to Isak?
So, the first thing to say is that in an ideal world where money is no object and Arsenal can sign any striker in world football, we imagine that most fans, and most likely the club, would also be out to get Isak.
However, that's simply not how the transfer market works, and while the Gunners may be able to sign the Swede this year, reports earlier this month suggest they will have to. A huge £150 million was spent To do this, consider that Declan Rice is the current club record Signing for £105 millionThis seems incredibly unlikely.
So, with Vlahovic available for less than a third of that price, he seems like a realistic and great alternative, especially since his recent form is not a million miles away from that of the toon star.
For example, in just 23 matches this season, the “world-class” Serbian has won a title Journalist Siavush Fallahi called itAnd it was recorded He scored 12 goals and provided two assistswhich equates to an impressive average goal involvement every 1.64 matches.
In comparison, the former Real Sociedad player scored a goal He scored 15 goals and provided four assists In 22 games, that equates to a slightly better average of goal involvement every 1.15 games, although not £104m better.
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Vlahovic vs. Isak 24/25 |
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|---|---|---|
|
player |
||
|
Appearances |
23 |
22 |
|
Objectives |
12 |
15 |
|
Helps |
2 |
4 |
|
Goal shares in every match |
0.60 |
0.86 |
|
All stats via Transfermarkt |
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Furthermore, while the Newcastle star is fantastically talented, his injury record is worrying.
For example, from the beginning of his career, the Solna-born star has done just that He missed 66 games Injured, while the Belgrade-born giant was absent Only 26 matches.
Ultimately, Isak is simply an exciting footballer, but at £150m, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will sign him, especially when Vlahovic is available for less than a third of that amount while being only marginally worse off.
It may not be a move that will make fans happy, but signing the Juventus star and using the remaining £104m to invest in more wide players could be the smartest option for Arteta and Co.
