Last week Arsenal’s chances of winning the Carabao Cup were dented big time by Alexander Isak.
No one should really be surprised by that. The Swede is one of the most in-form players in Europe right having scored ten goals in his last nine matches across all competitions.
The Gunners have regularly been linked with his services and he showed Mikel Arteta and Co exactly what they were missing by scoring at the Emirates. Arteta even admitted after the game that it showed what can happen when you have “real quality” at the top end of the pitch.
So, the club’s head coach is all too aware that the forward line needs boasting but you do get a sense that they will hope to get by with what they already have.
The trouble is that their best player in Bukayo Saka is going to be out for some time with a hamstring injury and his deputy, Ethan Nwaneri, is now also injured. It’s all rather typical.
Arsenal's transfer shortlist in 2025
As you would expect at this time of the year, there have been plenty of rumours surrounding who could enter the Emirates Stadium this year.
The most prominent of names is Isak but with Newcastle reportedly demanding a fee of something close to £150m, that isn’t an easy deal.
Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao has been touted over the last two transfer windows.
Over the summer he was only moving if dream club Barcelona came calling and this January, the Gunners may have to make him one of their top earners to get him out of Spain. That said, Arteta ‘wants to sign’ the player this month.
This January is already about taking market opportunities and two of them are set to pass them by. Whether there was any interest, however, is unknown.
Indeed, red-hot Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush is close to a move to Manchester City while Napoli’s Georgian superstar winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia looks as though he’s on his way to PSG.
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So, where else could they turn to in 2025?
Arsenal's best Nico Williams alternative
Reports prior to Christmas suggested that Arsenal had approached the representatives of AC Milan sensation Rafael Leao regarding a possible move.
A formal offer was not made but it was made clear that Leao is far more likely to move in the summer.
Boasting an almighty release clause of £145m, a move could be made cheaper and more attainable by his rocky relationship with new head coach Paulo Fonseca.
Arsenal supporters might well be saddened to hear another move being played down as a potential summer opportunity but the fact of the matter is that signing new players in January is difficult.
The Gunners will lose out big time in the back end of this season but it’s clear they are set to attack the summer window hard.
By luring Leao away from the San Siro, he could well be a better addition than both Isak and Williams.
Supporters will, of course, look at Isak’s numbers and wonder why he isn’t the best signing. You can certainly make a case that he should be the number one priority. He’s Premier League-proven and can’t stop scoring.
That said, Arsenal have shown they can challenge and score plenty of goals with Kai Havertz in the team. In 2023/24, he scored eight goals and assisted seven in just 18 outings. Even this term he’s got eight in 21 which isn’t a bad tally at all.
Of course, the Gunners need more goals but they perhaps lack more quality in wide areas. Saka is the only consistent player in that regard with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard having contributed a combined ten goals and five assists. For context, that’s seven fewer than Saka’s overall tally.
On that evidence, Arsenal need an explosive winger and in Leao – a “world-beater” in the words of data analyst Ben Mattinson, they’d have the perfect profile.
Further described as a a player who’s like an “early Thierry Henry”, in the words of Milan coach Stefano Pioli, cutting inside from the left and beating defenders for fun, his output is certainly better than Williams. Here’s how the two compare based on their numbers across 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Matches
50
48
Goals
12
6
Assists
13
14
Shot-creating actions *
4.93
5.01
Take-on success *
50.7%
41.6%
Progressive carries
5.57
5.81
Carries into final 3rd
3.39
2.96
Key passes
2.20
1.98
Progressive passes
4.13
2.83
As we can see, the two are pretty similar players. They love to carry the ball and take players on and they both love to create.
That being said, it’s Leao who is the more regular scorer, it’s the Milan star who takes players on more efficiently and it’s the Portuguese sensation who makes more key passes and progressive passes. That all suggests he could be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to improving Arsenal’s attacking output on the left hand-side of the pitch.
Arsenal – 44%
Arsenal – 32%
Everton – 41%
Ipswich – 34%
Brentford – 39%
Everton – 35%
West Ham – 38%
Brentford – 35%
Southampton – 38%
Chelsea – 35%
In the Premier League this term, they are the team who attack down the left the fewest times but signing a player like Leao would balance the team out and provide more high-percentage opportunities for the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Havertz to score from.
Perhaps he is the answer instead of Isak and Williams in the summer.
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