Arsenal preparing for ‘monster’ £80m signing

After a tough few weeks, Arsenal were back on track to winning the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Mikel Arteta’s side had the difficult task of facing Leeds United at Elland Road, but unlike their rivals, they never came under pressure and cruised to a 4-0 win.

The only downside to this game was Bukayo Saka, who was injured during the warm-up and was sidelined, but it is still unclear how long he will be out.

The Hale End icon may not be in his best form this season, but he is still the club’s best attacker, so fans should be excited by reports that Arsenal are linked with the sensational striker who could help him rekindle his cause.

Arsenal sign Saka to dream target

Given the huge amount of money Arsenal spent in the summer, it would be no surprise to see them take a step back and sit out the winter window.

But just because the Gunners aren’t calling anyone up this month, that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking ahead to the summer window.

In fact, the club now appear to have their sights set on a world-class striker who could not only make the No. 9 position their own, but also help further develop Saka’s abilities.

At least that’s according to a recent report from Spanish media outlet Sport, which claims Arsenal still have a strong interest in Julian Alvarez.

But the report goes further, revealing that the Gunners believe they could gain an advantage over their rivals by including first-team players in their offer.

Interestingly, the two players mentioned in this article are Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, who have been linked with a move away from the Emirates several times over the past year or so.

Getting him over the line could be a complex and expensive move, especially as he has been valued at as much as £80m in recent weeks.

Why Alvarez dreams of signing Saka

It may sound simple, and it is, but the first and most important reason for Alvarez to sack Saka at Arsenal is the fact that he is a good player.

For example, in his first season with Atletico last season, he scored an impressive 29 goals and provided eight assists in just 57 games and 3,967 minutes.

This averaged out to him being involved in a goal every 1.54 games and even more impressively every 107.21 minutes, an out-of-this-world number.

Despite some struggles this season, the Argentina international has played 30 games and 2,297 minutes, scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists.

This is still a reasonable average of being involved in a goal every 1.87 games, or one goal every 143.56 minutes.

In other words, even when he’s not at his best, the 26-year-old is a reliable source of goals and assists.

So whether it’s keeping chances away or creating chances for others, Saka will be able to play alongside the 49-capped star and know he’s right where he needs to be.

Furthermore, even if he is not directly involved in the goal, the Calcin-born dynamo’s presence on the pitch will force defenders to leave more space available for the Gunners’ other attackers.

In the end, there is no question whether he can do it in the Premier League.

In total, he played 103 games and 6,007 minutes in two seasons with Manchester City, scoring 36 goals and providing 19 assists.

This means that the prolific “monster”, as Argentine journalist Pablo Gonzalez dubbed him, was involved in a goal on average every 1.87 games, or 109.21 minutes.

In the end, it’s unlikely to be an easy deal to get over the line, but given Alvarez’s immense ability and the fact that he can supercharge Saka, Arsenal should go all out to land him in the summer.