Arsenal are on the hunt for an £80m “monster” who can save their season

When it rains, it pours, and that certainly seems to be the case Arsenal this season.

Over the past week and a bit, Mikel Arteta side dropped points away to Brighton & Hove Albion in Premier Leaguethey lost their first leg League Cup semi-final against Newcastle United, and then, to top it all off, lost on penalties to ten-man Manchester United in FA Cup.

Yesterday’s defeat felt like a hammer blow to the Gunners’ chances of winning the trophy this season, and while there have been poor performances from the hosts across the pitch, the player who has received the most criticism since then has been Kai Havertz.

The Germany international continued his poor form in front of goal since the midweek defeat and missed a handful of brilliant chances to give his side the lead, so recent reports have linked the club with a far more prolific centre-forward who could potentially save their team’s season should delight fans.

Arsenal rush forward to score goals

According to a a recent report from The Independent’s chief football writer, Miguel Delaney, Arsenal are delighted with the Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres.

In fact, according to the reporter, the Gunners have a ‘growing interest’ in the Swedish superstar.

However, fans may want to pump the breaks a bit, as Delaney goes on to explain that the former Coventry City ace would cost around £80m, a fee the club would ‘prefer to spend in the summer.’

It would be a lot of money to spend halfway through the campaign, but given the circumstances and the precipice the club feel they’re standing on, it’s money they have to spend, as not only would Gyokeres be a huge upgrade on Havertz, he could also save the team’s season.

How Gyokeres compares to Havertz

So, with Gabriel Jesus looking like he could be out for a while yet with another serious injury, Havertz is arguably Arsenal’s first-choice striker, meaning that if Gyokeres were to join him this month, the German would be his most significant competition.

Unfortunately for the former Chelsea ace, and despite the good work he has done for the Gunners over the last year or so, he comes off as a far second best compared to the Sporting CP star.

For example, in just 30 appearances this seasontotal 2570 minutes, “monster”, ace dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinsonhe has scored 32 goals and provided six assists, meaning he is currently averaging 1.26 goals per game, or one every 67.6 minutes.

In contrast, Topnik’s number 29 scored 12 goals and three assists in 27 appearances, a total of 2232 minutes, which means 0.55 goals per game or one every 148.8 minutes.

The comparison is still one-sided when we look under the hood and examine their underlying numbers.

For example, in virtually every metric, the Stockholm-born poacher comes out on top, metrics include but not limited to expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, tackles and shots on target, scoring and shooting actions, successful take-ons and more, all at 90.

Ultimately, while Havertz has been a valuable goalscorer for Arsenal over the past year and a half, his performances over the past week have made the North Londoners’ need for a superstar striker impossible to ignore.

Therefore, although it will be incredibly expensive, the club must bring Gyokeres to the Emirates this month.

Not only would he be an immediate upgrade for the German, but he could also be good enough to save the Gunners’ season.