The window won’t be formally open but, however foolish season is already in full swing, and it seems set to be a busy one for Arsenal.
The Gunners did not make ample additions to the primary workforce final yr, and it got here again to chew them in a giant means, with accidents and a scarcity of cutting-edge subjecting them to a fifth trophyless season and one more second-place end within the Premier League.
One of many few positives to return from the marketing campaign was Bukayo Saka’s regularly spectacular improvement, as despite the fact that he missed nearly 4 months of motion, the Englishman managed to rack up an excellent haul of 12 targets and 14 assists in 37 appearances.
So, followers needs to be enthusiastic about latest experiences linking the membership to a different Premier League-proven winger who has not solely received comparisons to the Hale Ender but in addition has one thing distinctly Thierry Henry-esque in his recreation.
Arsenal’s winger search
Earlier than we get to the participant in query, it is value taking a look at among the different wingers who’ve been touted for strikes to Arsenal in latest weeks, reminiscent of Bryan Mbeumo and Jamie Gittens.
The previous may very well be obtainable for as much as £51m within the coming weeks, and, in all honesty, that is most likely a greater than honest value, as in simply 42 appearances for Brentford this season, the Cameroonian dynamo scored 20 targets and offered 9 assists.
Alternatively, Gittens seems prone to value someplace within the area of £46m this summer season, which, once more, does not appear unreasonable for a 20-year-old expertise who scored 12 targets and offered 5 assists in 48 video games this season.
Nevertheless, neither of those gamers have been in comparison with each Saka and Henry, not like Kaoru Mitoma.
Sure, in accordance with a latest report from Sky Sports activities Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal at the moment are within the Brighton & Hove Albion star.
Plettenberg revealed that the membership have added the Japanese worldwide, who can be of curiosity to Bayern Munich, “to their record for the summer season.”
Nevertheless, probably the most important impediment to this switch may very well be the value, with experiences from final month claiming that the Seagulls need as much as £80m for his or her star winger.
It seems like this might be a expensive and complex switch to get performed this summer season, however given Mitoma’s potential and the comparisons to Saka, it could be one value preventing for.
How Mitoma compares to Saka
So, earlier than we get to among the different the reason why Arsenal may wish to signal Mitoma this summer season, it is value analyzing this comparability to Saka and the place it comes from.
On this occasion, it stems from FBref, which checked out gamers in related positions within the Premier League this season and concluded that the Arsenal star ranked on the very prime.
One of the simplest ways to grasp how this conclusion was reached is by taking a look at among the underlying metrics wherein the pair rank carefully, reminiscent of non-penalty anticipated targets, progressive carries, passing accuracy, reside passes, tackles and extra, all per 90.
Mitoma & Saka | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics per 90 | Mitoma | Saka |
Non-Penalty Anticipated Objectives | 0.32 | 0.31 |
Progressive Carries | 5.05 | 5.00 |
Passing Accuracy | 75.8% | 75.5% |
Stay Passes | 33.4 | 33.5 |
Tackles | 1.56 | 1.51 |
Ball Recoveries | 3.43 | 3.65 |
All Stats by way of FBref for the 24/25 PL Season | ||
On prime of his similarities to the Gunners’ mercurial quantity seven, there are another the reason why Arteta and Co needs to be signing the Seagulls’ extremely entertaining left-winger, like his output.
For instance, within the Premier League alone, the “insane” expertise, as dubbed by revered analyst Ben Mattinson, managed to attain ten targets and offered 4 assists in 36 appearances, which comes out to a median of a objective involvement each 2.57 video games.
Furthermore, whereas the Kawasaki-born maestro has confirmed himself capable of produce quite a lot of finishes, maybe his handiest sees him peeling off from the left and inserting the ball within the far nook, resulting in former teammate Christian Burgess claiming he “finishes like Thierry Henry.”
In the end, whereas it could require a considerable monetary effort, Mitoma may very well be simply what Arsenal want subsequent season, and due to this fact, the membership ought to do what they’ll to signal him this summer season.
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