The 26-year-old could fire Arsenal to the title.

Despite spending Christmas Day atop the Premier League tree, it has been a pitiful couple of weeks for Arsenal, in which they have lost three games on the bounce.

While there are often multiple reasons a team goes through a poor patch, with the Gunners, it is painfully obvious what is letting them down: their attack.

Mikel Arteta’s front line have been misfiring for much of the season, but the performances against West Ham United and Liverpool at the Emirates were perhaps the worst games the attack have had in quite some time.

The good news for Arteta and the Arsenal faithful is that the latest player touted for a move to N5 has been scoring for fun this season: Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke.

Arsenal transfer news – Dominic Solanke

According to the Daily Star, Arsenal are still on the lookout for a new striker this January, and while Brentford’s Ivan Toney remains a player they are keen on, Bournemouth’s Solanke is another number nine that they would like to bring to north London.

Unfortunately for the Gunners, this won’t be a cheap deal to complete, with the Mirror reporting that any move for the former Liverpool striker will cost at least £50m, which would represent a serious investment for a winter signing.

That said, for a striker who has 12 goals and one assist in 19 Premier League appearances this season, he could prove to be worth every penny for a title-chasing Gunners side.

Moreover, club legend Thierry Henry seems to be a fan of the Englishman, telling Amazon Prime (via the Metro): “I guess it was a bit too much when he was younger. But what he is doing right now is brilliant.”

Why Dominic Solanke could unlock Arsenal’s attack

Now, last season proved that Arsenal’s attack is not to be taken lightly; from Gabriel Martinelli to Eddie Nketiah, practically every attacker at the club played their part in running Manchester City close for the title, but it just wasn’t enough. Indeed, their top four scorers, Martinelli included alongside Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard all netted double figures in 2022/23.

Unfortunately, the attack hasn’t been able to produce the same output this season, and the need for a clinical number nine has been painfully obvious, which is precisely where Solanke could come in.

The 26-year-old has already reached double figures for the season and looks set to breach the 20 goals a season mark, which is only made all the more impressive considering he is doing it for a Cherries side that many had tipped for relegation just a couple of months ago.

n comparison, Jesus has scored just three league goals, Martinelli has scored twice, Saka has found the back of the net six times, and Nketiah has scored five goals.

So the “predatory” number nine, as described by Soccer Saturday pundit Kris Boyd, has the Arsenal attackers beaten when it comes to pure goalscoring, but how do his underlying numbers stack up to the Gunners’ recognised strikers?

Well, given his performances this season, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see that the “complete” Solanke, as described by his manager Andoni Iraola, comes out on top in most striker-related metrics.

The Cherries ace has a better non-penalty expected goals and assists figure than Nketiah, and while Jesus has more shots on target per 90, Solanke has a far better conversion ratio than the Brazilian. Likewise, his propensity to win aerial duels would add an extra layer to Arsenal’s attack.

Ultimately, while it would cost the club a significant amount of money if Arteta is serious about ending Arsenal’s two-decade title drought, he should be pushing for this transfer.

Source: https://www.footballfancast.com/arsenal-can-end-striker-nightmare-with-dominic-solanke/