What Mikel Arteta really thinks of his striker options amid Julian Alvarez transfer saga
The Julian Alvarez saga is expected to dominate Arsenal’s final week of the transfer window.
The Premier League champions internally believe a fee can be agreed, and Atletico Madrid are seemingly exploring replacements. The door appears to be opening.
If a move does materialise, it would surely rank among the most jaw-dropping late window signings in the club’s history.
But all the talk and the noise would suggest that Mikel Arteta isn’t satisfied with his current striker options, right?
Well, according to James McNicholas, that’s not the case at all.
Mikel Arteta is happy with Arsenal’s current striker options
Speaking on Arsecast Extra, McNicholas outlined what the Arsenal manager really thinks of his current striker options.
“Viktor is a different profile to Kai, but from everything I understand, that’s something Mikel Arteta is really pleased about,” he said.
“He recognised — staff recognised — that they need those different profiles in the squad and there will be game states and situations where a forward like Viktor maybe is just what’s required.”
It’s become pretty clear that Arteta views Kai Havertz as his best centre-forward option, at least in the big games.
The German started the Champions League final, and that’s been carried into this season, having been preferred for the Community Shield and the Premier League opener.
But that’s not to say he doesn’t like Viktor Gyokeres. The reality is that without the Swede, Arsenal wouldn’t have won the Premier League last season.
With injuries plaguing Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Mikel Merino, Arsenal really needed Gyokeres, who scored 21 goals across all competitions.
And it’s true that in different gamestates, Gyokeres is more useful than Havertz; there’s a reason he was signed in the first place.
Gyokeres is more of a battering ram. He’s direct, physical, constantly running in behind. That is useful when you’re already winning or if the opposition are allowing space in behind.
But for Arsenal, most often the opposition are sitting deep, and Havertz is far more useful in these scenarios thanks to his technical quality and link-up play.
Ultimately, while neither are perfect, they are two really good options to have, who bring different strengths. And Arteta is pleased to have both in his arsenal.
Whether the Alvarez pursuit would mean one of them was to leave, probably Gyokeres, remains to be seen.
But this is not a move they are desperate to do. They just realise there could be an opportunity here to make a really ambitious transfer.
