The Gunners are in search of a striker since the beginning of last season. Fans believe that the lack of a prominent finisher have costed them titles in the past two seasons. This theory is not wrong at all. As every big clubs across the top 5 league have an out-and-out striker in their squad. Maybe that was the reason why Man City got the better of Arsenal last season as they have a world-class striker like Erling Haaland.
Arsenal’s current number 9 Gabriel Jesus have failed to live upto the expectations since he joined the club back in 2022. He barely played any matches last season due to injuries and now it seems like the London top flight club is open to cash him out. Arsenal have already started to look for strikers and also found some favorites for that number 9 spot.
Arsenal’s shortlist for strikers
Reports suggest the Gunners are linked with several top class strikers recently. The top 2 candidates are-
Viktor Gyökeres:
Gyökeres is a Swedish striker who is currently playing for Portuguese giants Sporting CP. He is one of the hottest prospect in European football right now. The 26-year-old has already scored more than 50 goals since joining Sporting last season. Gyökeres is currently valued at £80-100 million.
Benjamin Šeško:
Alongside of Gyökeres, Šeško is another candidate for Arsenal’s number 9 role. The Slovenian international currently plays for German side RB Leipzig. Šeško is just 21 year old but he has already become a striker whom every team is feared of. He has already scored 10 goals for club and country this season. Leipzig have set a transfer clause of £65 million on Šeško.
Other than these two Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, Newcastle forward Alexander Isak, Lille‘s Jonathan David is also in radar of the Gunners. However, as per the reports of Gooner News, Arsenal have added another candidate named Santiago Castro for the role.
Who is Santiago Castro?
Santiago Castro is a 20-yeard-old Argentine striker, who currently plays for Italian side Bologna. Castro have caught the attention of top clubs by his performances in the Seria A. He came through the ranks of Argentine club Velez Sarsfield. Castro spent 3 years at Velez and made 64 appearances for them scoing just 9 goals.
But Bologna saw something in that kid which no one could. The Italian side signed Santiago Castro for a fee worth of £12 million during the winter transfer window last season. Though he didn’t got his chance right away. As it took Castro 5 months to prove his talent when he scored and provided a assist against Juventus in a 3-3 draw.
However, the appointment of new manager Vincenzo have been a great help for Castro. As he has given Castro regular starts since the start of this season. And Castro didn’t fail to capitalize on them as he has already scored 3 league goals in 7 matches so far.
His top start to the new season have drew attention in the Premier League also. As clubs like Chelsea, Aston Villa, Everton are monitoring Castro closely. Arsenal are amongst those clubs who are interested in him.
Is Santiago Castro a good option for Arsenal?
Football Express says, Santiago Castro will be a good option for the Gunners. As he is still young and will cost lower than the likes of Šeško and others as he isn’t a proved striker yet. Arteta can take his time to develop Castro into a striker who can play in his system.
On ther other hand, it would not be fair for Kai Havertz if a new striker replaces him right away after joining. Havertz has adapted the role of a striker so well since Jesus got injured. The German has already scored 6 goals across all competitions this season so far and will continue to do so as it seems.
However, Havertz cannot be a striker who will guarantee 20 or more goals every season. So, Santiago Castro can take his time to go on to that level and play as a second choice striker for the Gunners to prove his ability.
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