Do Arsenal lack attacking firepower?
The arrival of Viktor Gyökeres this summer was supposed to end the Gunners’ search for a centre-forward but, so far, the Swede has scored just four Premier League goals, with supporters yet to be truly convinced by their new number nine.
The Swede, as well as Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are all likely to remain sidelined ahead of Sunday’s North London derby, meaning Mikel Merino will continue as the makeshift centre-forward.
So, could Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta address this issue in January by targeting “one of the best strikers in Europe”?
Arsenal searching for more attacking firepower
The January transfer window is often a quiet one for Arsenal, albeit they have pulled off some memorable winter signings down the years.
Nacho Monreal, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor, Leandro Trossard and Andrey Arshavin all arrived in various Januarys, as did current club captain Ødegaard, albeit the most exciting mid-season addition surely remains Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined from Borussia Dortmund for £56m in January 2018.
So now, in a deal that would be very reminiscent, reports in Spain claim that Arsenal are ‘seriously considering’ a January move for another Dortmund centre-forward, this time Serhou Guirassy.
They claim that the Guinea international has a €50m release clause (around £44m) in his contract, making him an attractive proposition for any potential suitors, including Arsenal.
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Former national team head coach Kaba Diawara is the only Guinean to ever feature for Arsenal, scoring zero goals in 14 appearances in 1999, infamously hitting the woodwork with pretty much every shot he took, so Guirassy would certainly surpass that legacy, should he swap North Rhine-Westphalia for North London.
How Serhou Guirassy would repeat Aubameyang's success
When Aubameyang joined Arsenal, he was 28 years old and had just scored 141 goals in 213 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, winning the previous season’s DFB-Pokal, scoring the winning penalty against Eintracht Frankfurt in the final at Olympiastadion.
Once at Arsenal, the Gabonese international netted 92 times in 163 outings, sharing the Premier League golden boot in 2018/19, while only five players have ever scored more goals for the Gunners in the competition.
For those wondering, this quintet are: Thierry Henry, Ian Wright, Robin van Persie, Dennis Bergkamp and Olivier Giroud.
Now 36, Aubameyang is proving that goal-scoring instincts never fade, having netted six times for Olympique de Marseille already this season, most recently breaking the deadlock during Friday night’s 5-1 demolition of Nice, having also scored when les Phocéens crushed Ajax 4-0 at Stade Vélodrome in the Champions League in September.
So, with Gyökers earning mixed reviews, Arsenal might just lack a striker with that killer instinct, but could that be Guirassy?
Well, let’s compare his and Aubameyang’s time at Borussia Dortmund to see if he would be able to replicate the ex-Gunners star’s career?
Appearances
50
46
Minutes
4,244
3,959
Goals
38
40
UCL Goals
13
7
Assists
9
5
Shots per 90
2.9
3.4
Shots on target per 90
1.8
2.2
Shot accuracy %
60.54%
63.11%
Big chances missed
31
32
% of touches in the box
15.9%
20.5%
As the table documents, Guirassy’s form last season is remarkably similar to that of Aubameyang during his final campaign with die Schwarzgelben.
The current Dortmund centre-forward scored two fewer goals than peak Aubameyang, albeit he did net 13 times in last season’s Champions League, thereby picking up the competition’s golden boot.
Other numbers that are similar are the pair’s shots per 90, shooting accuracy and the percentage of their touches that come in the opposition’s penalty area, while the duo both missed more than 30 Opta-defined big chances, which, statistically speaking, is a lot!
Nevertheless, Guirassy’s form at Westfalenstadion led to Germany’s all-time record appearance holder Lothar Matthäus asserting that he has become “one of the best strikers in Europe”, underlining how highly rated he is by regular Bundesliga observers.
Thus, should Guirassy arrive at Arsenal in January, he would undeniably have a massive impact, one that could fire Arteta’s team to that elusive first Premier League title in 22 years.
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