It’s no secret that Arsenal want to buy themselves an out-and-out striker, whether that be an ‘old fashioned’ centre-forward or just a player that plays off the shoulder of the last defender but is a guarantee of goals.
The recent FA Cup game against Liverpool highlighted the Gunners problems for a worldwide TV audience.
Mikel Arteta’s side had the lion’s share of chances against the Reds, but it was Jurgen Klopp who was the happier of the two managers at full-time, having come away with a 2-0 victory.
It’s perhaps with that in mind that they’re running the rule over Bologna’s £50m-rated Joshua Zirkzee.
According to The Telegraph (subscription required), the towering 6ft 4in hitman has already scored eight goals and provided four assists in 22 games during the 2023/24 campaign.
Whether Zirkzee would be the right fit stylistically is another issue entirely.
Not since the days of Frank Stapleton, Malcolm McDonald or John Radford have the Gunners relied on what would be termed as a ‘target man,’ Olivier Giroud – and tenuously Emanuel Adebayor -aside, so Zirkzee’s hire, if it were to happen, would mean a change of direction in terms of the way Arsenal have been playing.
That might be considered too much of a risk at this point given that the north Londoners can ill afford to upset the equilibrium, though a summer move for the player might still be of interest.