Arsenal suffered their third Premier League defeat of 2023-24 at the hands of West Ham United on Thursday, with their poor finishing in front of goal proving costly in the end. The Gunners had 77 touches in the opposition...
Arsenal suffered their third Premier League defeat of 2023-24 at the hands of West Ham United on Thursday, with their poor finishing in front of goal proving costly in the end.
The Gunners had 77 touches in the opposition box, attempted 30 shots and registered eight on target, but it was not enough to produce a goal in their 2-0 defeat.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be forced to sign a new number 9 during the January transfer window, and the North London club have already been linked with Brentford hitman Ivan Toney and his Bournemouth counterpart Dominic Solanke.
Chris Sutton believes the former Liverpool striker is the best candidate for the job given that he has been firing on all cylinders this term, and he has urged Arsenal to steer clear of the Bees star.
“There’s been plenty of talk already about how manager Mikel Arteta needs to sign another striker in January,” the BBC pundit wrote in his latest prediction column.
“Brentford’s Ivan Toney has been linked for a while, but he has not played for months because of his suspension. He will have been training, but how much match sharpness does he have?
“Arsenal are trying to win the title, so they haven’t got time to wait for anyone to get up to speed.
“If we are looking at the names that are supposedly within their grasp, Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke stands out as the best candidate.”
Solanke has been in fine form this term, with 12 goals and an assist to his name in 18 Premier League appearances.
He bagged 44 league goals across two campaigns in the Championship for the Cherries before they gained promotion in 2022 and is finally proving his quality in the top-flight.
The Chelsea academy graduate was an absolute goalmachine during his time in the youth ranks of the Blues and is starting to live up to those lofty expectations again after initially struggling to hit the ground running in the Premier League.
He is proving that he has what it takes to play at this level with his excellent finishing, and Arsenal could do with such a striker right now.
Solanke would have bagged at least two goals against West Ham if he were leading the Gunners’ attack.
Gabriel Jesus missed several chances to score, proving all over again that he is not one of the best finishers out there.
Arsenal need a quality and proven goalscorer next month if they are serious about winning the title, and pulling out all the stops to land Solanke could make all the difference.
The post ‘The best candidate’ - Chris Sutton tells Arsenal the striker to sign to win title, he’s a goalmachine first appeared on Gooner Talk.
