While it’s not quite panic stations just yet, it would be fair to say that the shine has been taken off of Arsenal’s pre-season preparations over the last week or so.
It started with an underwhelming defeat to Tottenham Hotspur out in Hong Kong, and then the mood around the club got even worse following the 3-2 loss at home to Villarreal on Wednesday.
It wasn’t just the losses that shook confidence in some supporters, but also the nature of them, the lack of genuine cutting-edge, and specifically, Viktor Gyokeres’ ineffectiveness in the latter match.
However, the good news is that, based on reports, it looks like Arsenal are targeting someone who’d be able to get the Swede firing in no time at all.
Arsenal target perfect teammate for Gyokeres
While the last two games have certainly dented the excitement that some fans were feeling ahead of the new Premier League season, it should be said that this summer has still been a largely positive one, especially when it comes to transfers.
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For example, in addition to Gyokeres, Andrea Berta and his team have made five first-team additions to Mikel Arteta’s squad, with the likes of Noni Madueke and Christian Norgaard looking like excellent depth options and Martin Zubimendi the perfect long-term six.
Yet, things could still get better as the club are still looking to bring in at least one more player, someone who could help the former Sporting CP star explode next season.
At least that’s according to a recent report from Sebastian Vidal, who has reaffirmed that Arsenal are very interested in signing Eberechi Eze this summer.
The journalist has revealed that even though talks have somewhat stalled, the Englishman remains a key target and that a player sale may make it easier to secure his services.
It’ll likely be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but Eze has more than proven his ability and would be more than worth the effort it takes to get him, especially as he could get Gyokeres firing right away.
Why Eze would get Gyokeres firing
Okay, so while there is every chance that things will naturally improve the more games he plays in the team, it was obvious that the biggest problem for Gyokeres against Villarreal was the lack of opportunities being created for him.
Unlike Kai Havertz, who likes to drop back into midfield whenever he can, the Swedish superstar is very much your archetypal centre-forward, someone who spends most of his time in and around the penalty area, and rarely takes his shots from outside the area.
In this case, it’s clear that Arsenal need someone who can get the ball to him with relative ease, either through brilliant ball-carrying or passing, and fortunately, it looks like Eze would be excellent at the former.
For example, FBref ranked him in the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last season for successful take-ons per 90.
In other words, the Palace “magician,” as dubbed by Micah Richards, is elite at getting past opposition defenders and driving into dangerous areas before firing off a shot or laying the ball off for a teammate.
Another reason to believe the £100k-per-week gem could be the one to help the former Sporting star explode next season is the output he managed in a mid-table side last season.
In 43 appearances, totalling just 3303 minutes, the 27-year-old game-changer managed to find the back of the net 14 times and provide 11 assists for good measure.
Appearances
36
43
Minutes
2285′
3303′
Goals
11
14
Assists
6
11
Goal Involvements per Match
0.47
0.58
Minutes per Goal Involvement
134.41′
132.12′
That means he maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.72 games, or every 132.12 minutes, which is the sort of output that could seriously boost Gyokeres’ own goal and assist tally.
Ultimately, Arsenal need to add another attacking dimension to the team before the end of the summer, and not only would Eze do that, but he’d also get the most out of Gyokeres.
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