Arsenal plot £101m offer for “the best 9 in the world”

He might have scored a goal in the Champions League last week, but it seems fair to say that starting Mikel Merino up top has not worked for Arsenal.

The Spanish midfielder saved the day against Leicester City last month, and while he’s done certain parts of the job well, he’s not someone who can be relied on to step into the role amid an injury crisis.

Fortunately, Gabriel Martinelli returned to the team yesterday afternoon and can hopefully start down the middle until the end of the season.

However, with Gabriel Jesus out until next year and Kai Havertz not coming back until preseason at the earliest, Mikel Arteta and Co need to sign a new number nine as soon as possible, and the good news is that recent reports suggest that they may have found the perfect option, a player who’d be a colossal upgrade on Merino.

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According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal have drawn up a list of seven striker targets for the summer, with Lautaro Martínez near the very top.

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In fact, the report claims that there is currently speculation that the North Londoners are planning to make an offer for the Argentine superstar of around €120m, which comes out to £101m.

However, as things stand, it’s unclear if that will be enough to tempt Inter Milan into selling their prized centre-forward, who was their top scorer last season and is second on that list this year.

It will almost certainly be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line this summer, but given Martínez’s immense ability, it is one well worth pursuing, especially as he’d be a massive upgrade on all of Arsenal’s choices, including Merino.

Why Martínez would be a game-changer for Arsenal

Now, while there are several reasons Martínez would be a game-changing signing for Arsenal, from his track record of winning major trophies to his slick, free-flowing style of play, the most important is that he is a reliable scorer of goals and provider of assists.

For example, in just 44 appearances for Inter last season, the World Cup winner scored 27 goals and provided three assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 1.46 games.

In comparison, Jesus produced 16 goal involvements in 36 games, while Havertz hit 21 in 51, equating to a goal involvement every 2.25 and 2.42 games, respectively.

Interestingly, even though the Argentine, who renowned football podcaster Angelo Valdes described as “the best 9 in the world,” has been a little less effective this term, he’s still comfortably ahead, with a tally of 17 goals and six assists in 38 appearances.

In contrast, the Gunners’ Brazilian forward has nine goal involvements in 27 games, and the German has hit 15 goals and five assists in 34 games.

For his part, Merino actually has the best goal involvement-to-game ratio of the lot, as he’s found the back of the net three times and provided one assist in five appearances up top.

However, two of those goals came against Leicester, while the other and his assist arrived in the 7-1 thrashing of PSV Eindhoven.

In the other games, against West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, he looked entirely out of his depth with football.london’s Tom Canton awarding him match ratings of just 5/10 for each encounter.

Ultimately, Arsenal have a number of talented forwards, but none can be described as prolific, and while Arteta couldn’t rely on Merino to step up when he needed him to, Martínez’s incredible trophy haul suggests he very much could be relied upon.

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