Arsenal target Havertz upgrade in “unplayable” £59m monster

It’s been an eventful campaign for Arsenal this season, and it’s still only October.

Mikel Arteta’s side have already faced the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and following last night’s victory in the League Cup, there is a good chance they could play one of them again should they beat Crystal Palace in the quarter-final.

What makes this start all the more extraordinary is that, thanks to a slew of injuries and suspensions, the Gunners have had to face their biggest rivals without a number of their star players, and yet they currently sit just five points off top spot in the league.

However, while some star players have been absent, others haven’t, including striker Kai Havertz, who has carried on his impressive form from last season into this one and looks more and more at home with every passing game. Yet, based on recent reports, the club could sign his replacement next year.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal remain very interested in Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Alongside the Gunners, Plettenberg has revealed that Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are also keen on the Swedish international.

While this extra competition is far from ideal, the good news is that, according to the reporter, Sporting will allow the 25-year-old to leave next year, and that his exit, for a fee of between €60m to €70m – £50m to £59m – is now “planned.”

It could be a challenging transfer to get over the line due to the outside interest, but given Gyokeres’ sensational form and reasonable fee, it’s one worth pursuing, even if it would be bad news for Havertz.

How Gyokeres compares to Havertz

So, if Arsenal were to secure the services of Gyokeres next summer, it’s unlikely he’d come to North London to just sit happily on the bench, and with Jesus already firmly second choice, that means the Swede’s most significant competitor for first team football would be Havertz.

So, how do they stack up against one another?

From a pure output perspective, arguably the most important metric of all for a number nine, the Sporting star comes out miles ahead.

For example, in his 50 appearances for the Portuguese giants last season, the “unplayable” poacher, as dubbed by former teammate Maxime Biamou, racked up an outrageously impressive haul of 43 goals and 15 assists, and this season, he’s already scored 16 goals and provided four assists in 15 matches, meaning he averaged 1.16 goal involvements per game last season and is currently averaging 1.33 this year.

In contrast, the former Chelsea ace scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 51 appearances last year and currently has seven goals and one assist to his name in 14 matches this season, equating to an average of 0.41 goal involvements per game in 23/24 and 0.57 per match this season.

Now, there is the caveat that until the new year, the former Bayer Leverkusen star was playing in midfield for the Gunners, but even when we take a look at just his numbers when playing up top – 13 goals and eight assists in 28 appearances – they pale in comparison to the Swede.

Ultimately, there are, of course, other things Havertz brings to the table at the Emirates, like his ability to hold up the ball and press from the front, but when it comes to the most important metric of all, scoring goals, he’s a distant second to Gyokeres.

Therefore, even though it will almost certainly impact the German’s game time next season, Arsenal should go all out to sign the Sporting star next summer before one of their rivals get there first.

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