Nketiah upgrade: Arsenal signal interest in "Haaland-esque" striker
Nketiah upgrade: Arsenal signal interest in "Haaland-esque" striker
They couldn't quite get over the line again last season, but there can be no doubt that Arsenal took another step forward under Mikel Arteta in 2022/23.
The Spaniard's side made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and pushed Manchester City to the final day of the Premier League season, boasting the best defensive record in the competition.
However, the North Londoners scored five goals fewer than the Sky Blues, so it's unsurprising that the focus this summer has been to bring in a new number nine, be that Benjamin Sesko last month or Viktor Gyokeres in recent weeks.
While the Gunners are in the market for a new starting striker, the need for a backup is equally pressing, especially if Eddie Nketiah departs.
Luckily, recent reports suggest that Edu Gaspar and his team may have found the perfect solution: a young talent drawing comparisons to Erling Haaland.
Arsenal's striker search
According to a recent report from the Sunday Mirror via football.london, Arsenal are interested in Atlético Madrid's young striker Samu Omorodion and have let the Spanish club know as much.
Alongside the Gunners, the report claims that Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, Napoli, and Chelsea are also keen on the forward and that the latter have already held discussions with the La Liga giants over a potential deal but saw their offer rejected. The player has been offered fresh terms, which will include an £85m release clause.
Given the level of interest from other sides, it could be a tough transfer to get over the line, but if Nketiah really is sold for around £35m, then bringing the Spaniard to North London in his place might be a brilliant move, especially given his comparisons to City's Norwegian goal machine.
How Omorodion compares to Nketiah and Haaland
Now, before we get onto the comparison between Omorodion and Nketiah, let's examine these comparisons to Haaland, which mainly stem from FBref and data analyst Ben Mattinson.
The former looks at every player in Europe's top five leagues and then creates a list of the five most similar players based on position, and for the Spaniard, City's number nine is the 10th most similar striker.
This similarity can be seen best in some underlying numbers, such as progressive passes, carries and passes received, goals per shot and shot on target and live passes, all per 90.
Mattinson, on the other hand, argued that the 20-year-old's "ability to turn and hold off his marker" before firing a powerful shot past the keeper with his weaker foot is very "Haaland-esque."
With that said, how does he stack up with the player he could replace in North London? Well, when it comes down to the most crucial metric for strikers, pure output, he comes out just ahead.
In 36 first-team appearances last season, he scored nine goals and provided one assist, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 3.6 games.
In contrast, the Englishman scored six goals and provided three assists in 37 appearances, which equates to a goal involvement every 4.1 games. While that's not a massive difference, it is impressive considering the five-year age gap between the two forwards.
Ultimately, with it looking increasingly likely that Nketiah will leave this summer, Arsenal will need to bring in some reinforcements. Considering his impressive displays last season and favourable comparisons to Haaland, of all people, Omorodion looks as good a candidate as any.
And who knows, if talent scout Jacek Kulig is right that the youngster has a "big future ahead," he might be good enough to lead the line for Arteta in a few years.
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