“We need somebody who is going to take the half-chance” - Ian Wright feels Arsenal must sign 24-year-old Premier League star after losing title
Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes his former club need to sign striker Alexander Isak to help them win the Premier League. This comes after the Gunners missed out on the title by two points against Manchester City this season.
The north London side put up an excellent challenge in the English top-flight this season, taking the title race to the final day. However, they fell short by two points despite conceding the least goals (29) and scoring the second-highest goals (91).
After the game, Ian Wright spoke about Arsenal's season on Premier League Productions. He highlighted their 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa as one of the tight games where they needed a player, who could convert half chances. He said (via HITC):
"You know some games when it’s really tight, you can go back to the Villa game where Arsenal lost. If you had that striker who could get that goal out of nothing, it settles you down, you get the goal and you know you have somebody who could take half a chance. It’s worth its weight in gold. It gets the whole team settled. You relax and then you can start playing.
"If you are continually missing chances at the stage Arsenal were and none of the front guys were scoring, then you start to feel the pressure on the team. That’s what you can’t do against Man City. You have to be able to score the goals. We did score. We scored a lot of goals this season. But I am talking about changing games and changing the way you are playing the game."
Wright is certain that the Gunners will look to sign a striker this summer and will look at Alexander Isak's situation at Newcastle United. He said:
"I think they would definitely look at somebody that would fit into a very technically organised side. A team that can stretch. There is a lot of talk about what’s happening with Isak at Newcastle. You look at Isak, you could say ‘yeah’.
"You could probably see somebody like him at Arsenal the way he plays. The way he can link up. The way Mikel would want him to play in that team if it was him or a player of that stature. But we need somebody, first and foremost, who is going to take the half-chance.”
Isak, 24, scored 21 goals and provided two assists in 30 Premier League games for an injury-ravaged Newcastle side this season.
A look at Arsenal's forward line in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign
Mikel Arteta's side started the season with Gabriel Jesus as their main striker. The Brazilian had to deal with multiple injury issues but lacked the clinical edge when he played as well. He recorded just four goals and five assists in 27 Premier League appearances.
Jesus' main backup Eddie Nketiah only contributed five goals and two assists in 1071 minutes of league action across 27 appearances. Arsenal also used Kai Havertz as the centre-forward towards the end of the season. He scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 37 Premier League games, including his previous role as a midfielder.
Bukayo Saka was again the Gunners' top scorer with 16 goals and nine assists in 35 league games. Gabriel Martinelli contributed six goals and four assists in 35 games while Leandro Trossard registered 12 goals and one assist in 34 games. Skipper and attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard recorded eight goals and 10 assists in 35 games.