Arsenal have ended their pre season games in an impressive fashion. They won 3 out of the 5 fixtures. Gunners have also been making bug moves in the transfer window. They have been linked with some of the top names across Europe. However, they have only been able to complete two signings. They signed David Raya on permanent deal and have brought in Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna. Gunners have sold their academy talent Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham for £29 million. Arsenal were also linked heavily to part ways with another academy player Eddie Nketiah. However, they have not been able to receive a suitable deal. Arsenal are in need of a new striker and have been linked with Jonathan David. If the deal progresses, Nketiah can finally be seen moving away from the club.
Eddie Nketiah joined Arsenal academy in 2017. He was considered as the future of Gunners back in time. However Nketiah has not been able to live up to the expectations. He has been very poor in the recent season. Nketiah played 37 matches in the 2023/24 season and was able to score only 6 goals. He and his partner Gabriel Jesus were both very poor in the Premier League. They scored only 9 goals combined which costed Gunners the title. Both of the strikers have lost their place as a regular starter. Kai Havertz played most of the last season as striker. However, it is not his preferred position. Hence, Gunners need to sign a new striker and part ways with Nketiah.
Current situation regarding Nketiah
Nketiah was very heavily linked with Olympique Marseille. The French club are in need of a striker as their main striker left the club. Marseille wanted to sign Nketiah but the deal has now reported to have failed by Fabrizio Romano. Gunners want €30 million for Nketiah but Marseille were ready to pay only €20 million. It was said that Nketiah has agreed the personal terms with Marseille. However, it seems like Arsenal are not ready to part ways with Nketiah if their demands are not fulfilled. A lot can change if Arsenal are able to sign Jonathan David from Lille.
Marseille have now signed Elye Wahi. Wahi is 21 years old and costed the French giants a fee of £22 million. It is now reported that Bournemouth are interested to sign Eddie Nketiah. Bournemouth have sold their main striker Dominic Solanke to Tottenham. They have received initial £55 million for their striker. Other than that they will receive further £10 million as add-ons. They need to give some of the money earned to Liverpool due to previous contract. However they still have a lot of money to make move for Nketiah.
Arsenal now linked with Jonathan David
Gunners are now linked with 24 year old Canadian striker. David plays for LOSC Lille and has been great in the recent seasons. He has also played 54 international matches for Canada and has scored 28 goals and provided 9 assists. According to football fancast, David will cost Gunners around £20 million. Jonathan David can elevate the Gunners attack to the next level. He can fill the void currently caused due to lack of consistent striker.
Jonathan David has been very good for Lille. He joined Lille in 2020 from Gent for who he scored 23 goals in 40 matches. The 2020/21 season was the first season for David at Lille. He played 48 matches and was able to score 13 goals and provide 4 assists. In his second season, his goal tally increased to 19 from 13. To conclude, in the last two seasons David has been able to score 26 goals a season consecutively. Since his move to Lille, David has averaged a goal involvement every 1.79 games. This is a lot more than Eddie Nketiah who has averaged goal involvement every 3.47 games. Arsenal need to speed up their transfer process as they still need to find a midfielder and a right winger besides a striker.
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