If there is one thing Arsenal need to add to their squad ahead of next season, it’s goals.
Despite coming second in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s side scored 17 goals fewer than champions Liverpool and three fewer than third-placed Manchester City.
Fortunately, the club appear keen to address the problem this summer, as over the last few weeks, and particularly the last seven days, the Gunners have been linked with a host of incredible attacking talents.
One of those who has been heavily touted for a move to the Emirates for some time now is Benjamin Sesko, and while he would be a great addition to the team, another, potentially better signing has now been linked with the North Londoners.
With the Gunners clearly lacking something in attacking areas compared to their competitors, it’s not been much of a surprise to see the club being linked with several brilliant goalscoring players in recent weeks, like Eberechi Eze and the aforementioned Sesko.
The former has a release clause worth around £68m in his current deal, and while that’s no small fee, it feels about right for a 27-year-old Premier League-proven England international, who scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 43 games this season.
The latter could end up costing the North Londoners around £70m this summer, and like the Crystal Palace star, he enjoyed a strong campaign this season, scoring 21 goals and providing six assists in 45 appearances for RB Leipzig.
However, while the Slovenian international would be a good signing for Arteta and Co, another, even more exciting player has now been linked with the club: Morgan Rogers.
Yes, according to a recent report from The Athletic, Arsenal remain interested in the Aston Villa star and are currently ‘exploring’ a deal for him.
A potential price for the England international is not mentioned in the story, but according to stories from late last week, he could be available for around £70m this summer.
It might be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line for Arsenal, but Rogers has shown he’d be worth the effort, and we even think he’d be a more exciting signing than Sesko.
The first reason why Rogers could end up being a better signing for Arsenal than Sesko is that, although he’s also just 22 years old, he has already proven himself in the Premier League.
If the Gunners were fighting for a top-four finish, or even heading into their first title race, then perhaps signing a young and relatively unproven striker wouldn’t be such a concern.
However, that’s not the situation they find themselves in; instead, they need someone who can help them win something as soon as possible, which might not be possible if the Leipzig star needs half a year to settle in.
Moreover, while the Slovenian poacher could help solve Arteta’s centre-forward problem, that’s all he could help with.
In contrast, the “superb” Villa star, as dubbed by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, is more than comfortable playing off either wing and in attacking midfield, which could provide the manager with so many tactical options.
Finally, when we take a look under the hood at the pair’s underlying numbers from this past season, it becomes even clearer that the former Manchester City youth product is the far more complete player.
For example, the 22-year-old “machine,” as dubbed by The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, comes out on top in purely offensive metrics, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists and key passes, as well as some defensive ones, including tackles won and blocks, all per 90.
This demonstrates that, across the board, the Englishman could and almost certainly would contribute far more to the Gunners next season.
Therefore, while Arsenal should be looking to sign both Rogers and Sesko this summer, the former would undoubtedly be the better buy.
