Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been urged to sign a ‘goalscorer’ after being warned that Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah’s efforts are not enough to close the gap on Manchester City. Their former player Emmanuel Petit has pointed to City’s signing of Erling Haaland as an example of the type of player Arteta should be targeting, with the Frenchman providing one suggestion for the ideal type of striker they need.
Arsenal have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season along with City, Tottenham and Liverpool. But of the nine goals they have scored in their opening five matches, only three have come from their strikers Jesus and Nketiah.
Jesus rounded off the scoring in the 3-1 win over Manchester United after coming off the bench, but the Brazilian has only been given 39 minutes of action this season. He has been hampered by fitness problems since joining the north London club for £45m in 2022 and, for a lengthy period last season, Nketiah featured in his absence.
However, the pair only netted 15 goals between them in the Premier League in 2022-23, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli both hitting the 15-goal mark on their own. And Petit thinks Arsenal need a natural goalscorer like Haaland if they want to close the gap to Guardiola’s side.
“Arsenal already have two very good strikers in Nketiah and Jesus, but they are not typical goalscorers. If Arsenal want to go a step further, then they need a pure striker – someone who can get 30 goals in a season,” Petit said, speaking to Betway.
“Look at Guardiola. He thought he could win the Champions League without a No 9. He then changed his mind, signed a goalscorer, and won it by the end of that season. I think Arteta wants to emulate Pep’s success at City, and I think he’ll be influenced by him to sign an out-and-out scorer.
“The aim of football is to score goals and win. I like Jesus, but he needs a few chances to score. Arsenal are lacking a prolific scorer.”
Finding another striker that offers a close resemblance to Haaland is a tall order, given that the Norwegian broke the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season with 36 in 2022-23. But Petit thinks Brighton’s Evan Ferguson could be the answer.
“Evan Ferguson could be that striker, why not? He’s a very young guy and he’s already a great goalscorer,” he added. “He’s doing well at Brighton so far. If I were him, I’d look at how the team is improving with De Zerbi and I’d want to stay there for now.
“They’re playing European football and aiming for the top-four. I think it could be a bit early to leave at the moment. I think Arsenal need a ready-made striker. Could that be by Ferguson? I have no idea.”
