Forget Darwin Nunez - Arsenal must swerve wasting £38m on Liverpool flop and sign bargain striker instead

After failing to score for the ninth time across all competitions in this week’s 1-0 Champions League semi-final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, many Arsenal fans are once again hammering home the message that they need to sign a clinical striker this summer if they are to compete for the major honours.

It’s a weakness that’s been blatantly obvious throughout the campaign, particularly in the second half of the campaign after Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus’ injury. Arsenal simply don’t score enough goals to win the league title, and when the chips are down and the team aren’t playing great, they lack that poacher that can nick them a goal against the run of play.

Newcastle United have that in Alexander Isak, Manchester City have that in Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush, Liverpool have that in Mohamed Salah and even Aston Villa in seventh position in the form of Ollie Watkins have someone that they can rely on to almost always get 15+ goals a season for their team.

As it stands, Arsenal’s chief creator in Bukayo Saka is also their main goalscorer and without their star winger on the pitch the Gunners struggle to create killer openings in the final third. This has led to claims from Dietmar Hamann, via Football London, that Arsenal should consider a move for Liverpool frontman Darwin Nunez after the Uruguayan has fallen out of favour under Reds boss Arne Slot.

"I think Nunez would be gold for Arsenal, because I think if you've got somebody up top who bullies defenders, who draws defenders in, he always gets the attention of two or three defenders.Obviously, he’s a big unit. He’s quick. The game changes. If you've got somebody up top with a physical presence, with pace, it's a different ballgame,” said Haaman

"They always find space, Arsenal, but it also makes it easier for the likes of Saka and Martinelli and Odegaard when they get into these pockets because quick players stretch teams. They simply haven't got it.”

The forward, who once thrived at Benfica, is available for a cut price fee of £38m, via AS, which is significantly cheaper than the reported £85m Liverpool paid for him in 2022, but is he worth the gamble?

Why Arsenal should look beyond Darwin Nunez in their striker hunt

Darwin Nunez arrived at Liverpool on the back of a fantastic campaign at Benfica which had seen him score 26 goals in 28 games. He was one of two marquee strikers to arrive in England for blockbuster fees with Erling Haaland moving to Manchester City for £51.2m, making him nearly £35m cheaper than Nunez.

Haaland broke every record in sight, scoring 36 goals in 35 matches, while guiding City to their first Champions League honour nearly 15 years on from their big-money takeover. However, Nunez struggled to hit the ground running with just nine league goals in 29 appearances in his first season as Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Now that’s not to say Nunez has been an entire flop, in his second season for example he registered 11 league goals while also contributing eight assists. He formed part of the team that won the League Cup and was praised for his all around ability to stretch defences, create goal-scoring opportunities and wreak havoc in the opponents back-line. For his somewhat unpredictable style of football, Núñez is often referred to as the “Agent of Chaos" while Jamie Carragher even compared some of his physical attributes to Fernando Torres.

However, in his third season, just as he had looked to start to be coming of age, Nunez has regressed under Arne Slot, with just five league goals and two assists in 27 games, with eight yellow cards - meaning he’s had more bookings than goal contributions this term. While there is no doubt, there’s a player in there in Nunez, he’s no sufficient upgrade on what they already have in Kai Havertz, who has outscored Nunez in both of the last two seasons while also playing with a greater discipline than the Liverpool front-man.

Nunez has also missed 53 big chances since moving to the Premier League, which is the 31st highest of any top-flight player since 1992 and already the same amount that Jermaine Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor managed in their whole career.

Where Arsenal should look in their pursuit of a striker

What Arsenal need to take the next step is a proven goalscorer that can get at least 15+ goals in a full league season. They last had that in Pierre Emerick-Aubamayeng before his relationship with Mikel Arteta and form on the pitch dipped during the Spaniard's first full season.

Ideally Arsenal need a player with pace in behind and the ability to score all kinds of goals - and they could get that calibre of player on their hands for free in the form of soon-to-be out-of-contract Lille star Jonathan David.

The Canadian is the same age as Nunez (25) and has a proven track record of scoring goals at the highest level. He’s got 25 goals and 11 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions this season, and has found the net 16 times in the French league and seven times in the Champions League.

David is far from a one season wonder as well and has managed more than 10+ league goals in every season since turning professional in 2018, while significantly scoring 15+ league goals in five of his seven seasons which have all come at top-flight level in either France or Belgium.

The Lille star is also much more clinical in front of goal with 117 career goals compared to Nunez’s 77 and has a 50.2% shot on target rate compared to the Uruguayan's 43.77% while attempting 49 more shots over the course of his career, via FBref.

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