Ranking Arteta's striker targets as panic sets in

Mikel Arteta has been adamant that Arsenal won’t buy just any ol’ striker but it’s feeling increasingly desperate over at the Emirates as we near the close of the transfer window.

They’ve had a £60m bid for Ollie Watkins knocked back by Aston Villa and now apparently have five alternatives in mind as they look to ease their forward woes, with Bukayo Saka back-ups also a supposed consideration over a typical No.9.

We’ve ranked the six options – including Watkins – from the worst to the best buy.

6) Antoine Semenyo

He’s incredibly two-footed, which remains a very rare commodity in modern football and allows him to go either way on both wings, providing cover for Saka as well as granting Arteta the option of utilising him on the left in his preferred starting XI amid doubts over Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard’s ability to consistently step up to the mark.

There’s a Chip On The Shoulder element that shouldn’t be discounted, with Teddy Sheringham and Jamie Vardy testament to the value in those battling adversity to make it to the top table; Semenyo was told he wasn’t good enough by Crystal Palace at the age of 15 and was playing in League Two for Newport County five years ago.

He’s been outstanding for Bournemouth this season but there are perhaps doubts as to how he may be able to transfer that excellent form in a team built to serve his counter-attacking brilliance to a more possession-based side. He’s also not a central striker, which is the priority for Arsenal.

5) Bryan Mbeumo

It’s for those same reasons that Mbeumo – who should absolutely be being considered by Arsenal and any top team looking to sign a winger – is not nearer the top of this list.

He’s been brilliant for Brentford in a similar Speed And Power On The Break role to Semenyo but, like the Ghanaian, is a right winger rather than a central striker, albeit with more experience in that central position.

It feels like one of The Big Boys is sure to snap him up in the summer, but for now Arsenal should be keeping tabs rather than pushing for a transfer that felt more necessary before Ethan Nwaneri came to the fore in Saka’s absence.

4) Ollie Watkins

There were several reasons apparent in Aston Villa’s thoroughly entertaining win over Celtic on Wednesday why Watkins would be a great Arsenal addition, but he was again found wanting with regard to the reason that they’re looking to sign a striker this month.

Ridiculous penalty miss aside, which can be chalked up more to misfortune than a lack of quality, though it’s hard to imagine a world-class goalscorer making the same blunder, he spurned four very presentable chances that would undoubtedly have had the hysterical Arsenal fans up in arms had he been hitting those shots straight at the goalkeeper while playing for them.

Quite simply, he’s not a finisher, with Havertz (-0.9) being closer to his xG than Watkins (-2.0) in the Premier League this season proof of that. He’s also 29, until he becomes 30.

READ MORE: Watkins is the Havertz of Aston Villa as huge win should rule out second Arsenal d*ck move

3) Dusan Vlahovic

An xG underperformance of -3.8 in Serie A this season makes selling Vlahovic over Watkins tricky, but he’s four years younger and likely significantly cheaper.

Reports suggest he wants out of Juventus too, which definitely helps, as although those Watkins “dream of playing for Arsenal” quotes have resurfaced everywhere, it’s not clear whether he actually wants to leave Aston Villa, who are now ‘furious’ with Arsenal anyway and could probably do with a striker for the rest of the season with Jhon Duran off to bathe in a plunge pool of Saudi money.

He’s got just 18 months left on his deal in Turin and with Randal Kolo Muani joining from PSG and immediately usurping Vlahovic in the team, Juventus are supposedly keen to find a buyer for the Serbian now in a bid to avoid the same situation that saw Federico Chiesa depart for a cut-price fee.

But Arteta has consistently stated the need for “the right player” and ease of negotiations will only be a minor consideration. More significant factors will be his and Arsenal’s previously held interest – they pushed hard to sign him three years ago before Juve swooped – and the chance of him rediscovering the form that led the Serie A giants to pay Fiorentina £67m for his services.

In the two seasons before he left for Juventus he over performed his xG by 2.5 and 3.8.

2) Mathys Tel

Every Premier League club in need of a forward also being interested isn’t necessarily a reason to fight for him, but it at least provides an indication of how highly he’s regarded, with Bayern’s reticence to sell providing further indication of his worth.

Tel not really playing for Bayern also shouldn’t be a concern because that could still mean he’s one of the best strikers in Europe, with arguably the best standing in his way of a starting spot.

Sixteen goals in 83 games paints a pretty bleak picture but the Harry Kane obstacle has meant he’s made just 33 of those appearances in his preferred central striker role, starting only twice.

Truth is we don’t really know how effective a goalscorer Tel is or can be, and it’s potential rather than the finished article that Arsenal would be buying, but that’s almost always the case when buying teenagers, with the plus side being not only his scope for improvement but also the potential increase in value that comes with such a gamble.

1) Benjamin Sesko

It’s claimed Sesko ‘has always been Mikel Arteta’s priority’ and there’s certainly been longstanding interest in the RB Leipzig striker, who’s accused in some circles of being a scorer of great goals – like his thunderb*stard vs Werder Bremen earlier this month – rather than the great goalscorer that Arsenal need, but even the slightest dig into the surface numbers suggests otherwise.

A best league tally of 16 goals is hardly the great improvement on Kai Havertz, who scored 13 in the Premier League last season, that Arsenal are looking for, and Sesko scoring those goals for RB Salzburg in the Austrian top flight doesn’t aid his case.

Fourteen in the Bundesliga last term is no great shakes either, but they came at a rate of one every 109 minutes, with a goal every 125 minutes across his whole RB Leipzig spell significantly better than the records of Havertz (229 mins per goal), Gabriel Jesus (210) and any other option Arteta has to call upon.

Of the 127 players to fire off at least 25 shots in the Bundesliga last season, only Stuttgart forward Serhou Guirassy (30.4%) had a better conversion rate than Sesko (29.8%) and the Slovenian over performed his xG by 5.98, the biggest over performance in Germany’s top tier.

Sesko also has longevity on his side as a 21-year-old, would provide a proper presence up front at 6ft 4in and is as comfortable attacking the space in behind opposition defences as he is coming to feet. Arsenal should feel very comfortable paying £67m as they are clearly willing to shell out £60m on Watkins.

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