Arsenal made a significant advancement in the previous season by pushing Manchester City to the championship game even though they were unable to win the Premier League.
From the best-in-class defense to the leadership of Martin Odegaard to Bukayo Saka’s ridiculously impressive 34 goals and assist in 47 appearances across all competitions, Mikel Arteta’s team showed improvements in every area.
Gabriel Martinelli, though, was among the few players who appeared to regress.
The good news for him is that he may be able to improve his situation and resume his attacking output with the latest star being tipped to join the Emirates this summer.
Arsenal transfer news
Arsenal has reportedly rekindled their interest in Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer and are prepared to make an offer, per a recent report from The Daily Briefing via Caught Offside.
The report also states that Atlético Madrid and cross-town rivals Chelsea are interested in signing the Swedish goal machine, in addition to the Gunners.
According to the report, the North Londoners will try their luck with an offer between £55 million and £60 million after they have sold Eddie Nketiah. Even though it is significantly less than his £86 million release clause, this week’s other reports suggesting the striker is eager to get back to England may help things along.
Gyokeres’ incredible form from the previous season and the potential impact he could have on players like Martinelli make him worth Arsenal’s high summer transfer fee.
How Martinelli could be enhanced by Gyokeres
Gyokeres could help Martinelli return to his best level next season in a variety of ways, such as by serving as a mentor off the field and helping him rehearse his finishing on the practice field, but the main reason the Swedish international would be so helpful to the Brazilian is simply his sheer output.
Data analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed the 6 foot 2 “powerhouse” of last season’s team, “a monster” who scored 43 goals and added 15 assists in just 50 games. That means that he averaged a goal involvement every 0.86 games, or 1.16 goals per match.
The rates of return for Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are, quite simply, astronomically higher than this—0.41 and 0.44 per match, respectively.
It makes sense that the former Ituano gem would record a lot more assists each season if he was playing with a number nine as skilled as the Sporting Ace. This is especially true given that Understat found that he underperformed his expected assists figure by 4.35 the season before and by 1.32 in the league the previous season.
But the 23-year-old’s goal scoring would probably rise as well in addition to his assists.
The former Coventry City star proved to be more than just a poacher last season, racking up 15 assists and 12 the year before. In fact, he might start to supply the other attackers for the Gunners, much like Harry Kane did for Tottenham Hotspur throughout the years.
In the end, Gyokeres is such a talented striker that even paying the full amount would probably be worth it in the long run, especially if he can help Martinelli resurrect next season. It would be amazing to sign him for less than his asking price in the coming weeks.
That’s why Edu Gaspar and company should definitely bring the Swedish goal machine to the Emirates this summer if they get the chance.
