Is the ranks of Arsenal’s strikers a problem or a blessing? Truth be told, there are both sides of the coin here.
Victor Goqueres has looked like something of a misfit since arriving at the Emirates Stadium, but he is the club’s top scorer with 11 goals this term and is on track to reach 20 goals this season.
For reference, no player has achieved that under Mikel Arteta since the days of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Whatever you think of the Swede, he wasn’t as disastrous an addition as many made him out to be.
Combining his talents with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz creates three centre-forwards, all with different qualities and, importantly, all able to score goals.
In fact, although they have not been really prolific, they have appeared at key moments this season, with Jesus scoring twice inside the San Siro and Havertz scoring in the Champions League. that We won a late game against Chelsea a few days ago.
Arsenal striker in 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|
player | game | the goal |
Gokeres | 9 | 4 |
Havertz | 5 | 2 |
Jesus | 9 | 3 |
That said, the jury is still out on Gokeres and it would be surprising if Jesus is still in London next season.
As a result, all eyes are on the manager of Julian Alvarez and other top European forwards.
Why Julian Alvarez would be an exceptional signing for Arsenal
Gokeres may be on track to finish the season as the Gunners’ top scorer, but his performances leave much to be desired.
For many games he was unable to connect passes and didn’t have much touch, which was especially evident in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea. The former Sporting man was an unknown and isolated figure in the top flight, although this was not his first time. He touched the ball just 10 times that night and completed one pass. However, he did score against Leeds United last weekend.
So Alvarez definitely represents an upgrade. They are valued at £80 million and reports in recent weeks have suggested they are preparing to sign the Argentine in the summer and are already in talks.
Combining the best qualities of both Jesus and Havertz, he would be a great catch. Like the German, he is known for dropping deep and linking plays, effectively being something of a Raumdeuter.
A Raumdeuter (German for “spatial interpreter” or “spatial investigator”) is an on-pitch role that relies on a player finding and exploiting open spaces in the final third and positioning himself to receive the ball or finish off chances without being directly marked.
However, like Jesus, he has great technical ability and is able to use his close control around the penalty area to blast past players and create scoring opportunities.
The important thing is that he scores goals. Since being traded from Manchester to the Spanish capital, he has had a fantastic spell with Atletico Madrid, scoring 40 goals in 88 games.
In the words of journalist Roy Nemmer, he was “the best forward in the world” last season, and it’s hard to argue with that given his all-round attributes.
That being said, Alvarez would be a sensational signing, but there may be better players out there who are worth a higher transfer fee.
The former Arsenal star is now a bigger talent than Julian Alvarez
Alvarez had a brilliant spell at Manchester City, scoring 36 goals in 103 games and also provided 19 assists. Manager Josep Guardiola deemed Erling Haaland disposable due to his impressive performances, but there is no doubting how good the Argentine is.
Arsenal already have Alvarez, he’s a ‘Berkamp-like player’
Arsenal are interested in signing Julian Alvarez this summer.
Still, is he better than a certain Michael Oliseh? Probably not. Loose reports towards the end of last year suggested the Gunners were interested in luring the Frenchman away from Bayern Munich, but who could blame them?
Since trading Crystal Palace for Germany, he has become one of the best wingers in world football, surpassing even Alvarez’s feats.
why? Now, the 24-year-old has put up some truly impressive numbers this season for Munich under coach Vincent Kompany. In 32 appearances, Olise has provided a whopping 23 assists, 17 of which have come in 20 Bundesliga games. On top of that, he has beaten the goalie 13 times. He is a true elite soccer player.
However, it may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that he was previously part of Arsenal’s academy. Yes, Olise left the club around 15 years ago and was initially in the Emirates youth team.
So who is to blame for his loss? Well, in reality, it was the forward’s and his family’s decision to go elsewhere, and he subsequently moved to Chelsea, where he spent most of his formative years before spending time at Manchester City.
Former Chelsea manager Sean Conlon, who had his eye on seven-year-old Oliseh while playing for Hayes, said of his time as a youth player: “Michael was training with Arsenal at the time because you’re allowed to train with more than one team before you move to Under-9s, but he probably ended up signing for Arsenal because he lives close to Chelsea and they obviously have a great academy.”
Olise never made a first-team appearance for Chelsea or City, but eventually made a name for himself at EFL side Reading and then Crystal Palace.
Purely looking forward to watching the Premier League, he moved to Bayern in the summer of 2024 for £50.8 million. Reports now suggest that Alvarez is worth a whopping £123m, more than £40m more than the £80m claimed for this summer.
Arsenal no doubt regret not being able to persuade the boyhood winger to stay.
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