Following last weekend's 1-1 draw with Fulham, Arsenal failed to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool, remaining six points behind, having played a game more.
William Saliba's equaliser at Craven Cottage came via the Gunners' favourite method, a set-piece, with much of the post-match discussion concerning Arsenal's lack of open-play creativity, with James Benge succinctly noting that Arsenal rank 13th in the Premier League for open-play xG.
So, could Mikel Arteta look to the transfer market to bolster his forward options to increase his team's attacking output?
Latest Arsenal transfer news
According to a report by Mark Brus for Caught Offside, Arsenal, as well as Manchester City and Liverpool, will attempt to sign Florian Wirtz next year, with the German international "expected to leave" Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz
Christian Falk and Axel Hesse in Sport Bild believe Wirtz is valued at €150m (around £125m) by Leverkusen, having signed a new contract in June 2022, keeping him at die Werkself until 2027.
Nevertheless, the reigning Bundesliga champions are accustomed to selling key assets, with current Arsenal striker Kai Havertz's £72m move to Chelsea their record sale, so could Wirtz be the latest superstar player to depart die Schwarzroten for London?
Arsenal's next Mesut Ozil
Back in October, Bayer manager Xabi Alonso described Wirtz as a "genius" and compared him to Italian great Roberto Baggio as well as former Arsenal hero Mesut Özil, having stated that he's "a little like Baggio and Ozil".
That comparison to Ozil, in particular, will bring a smile to the faces of many Gooners, but how do the two Germans compare?
Florian Wirtz vs Mesut Özil comparison
Statistic
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Goals per 90
Assists
Assists per 90
Shots
Shots on target %
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com
As outlined in the table above, Wirtz's attacking output since the start of last season exceeds what Özil produced at Arsenal.
2015/16 and 2016/17 was chosen because this is when Özil was at the peak of his powers, statistically speaking, but the playmaker, commonly known as the Assist King, actually averaged fewer assists than Wirtz, on a per-90 basis, during the sample sizes chosen.
This underlines Wirtz's outstanding talent, suggesting it might be wise for Arsenal to break the bank to secure his services.
How Florian Wirtz compares to Arsenal's other attackers
As recorded by Transfermarkt, 132 of Wirtz's 175 appearances for Leverkusen have come as an attacking midfielder, but he's also been deployed as a centre-forward, out-wide on both flanks and even as part of a midfield trio.
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So far this season, he's almost exclusively been deployed centrally, but should Wirtz move to Arsenal, he may fit more naturally wide-left, with supporters frustrated by Gabriel Martinelli's lack of end-product, calling for an upgrade.
So how does Wirtz compare to Arsenal's current, first-choice attacking quartet: Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz?
Florian Wirtz vs current Arsenal attackers (23/24 & 24/25)
Statistic
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Goals per 90
Assists
Assists per 90
Goal-creating actions
Goal-creating actions per 90
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com
As you can see, Saka is, by some distance, Arsenal's most productive attacker, taking his tally to both nine goals and 12 assists for the season already during the Gunners' 3-0 Champions League victory over Monaco on Wednesday, scoring twice before teeing up Havertz for the late third.
Arsenal-Havertz-Saka-Merino
However, since the start of last season, Wirtz's numbers are largely on par with Saka, scoring the same number of goals and providing just one fewer assist during this time frame, despite having played 804 fewer minutes.
Thus, if it wasn't clear already, the addition of Wirtz would certainly take Arsenal to the next level, albeit the Gunners would surely have to smash their current transfer record, the £105m paid toWest Ham for Declan Rice, to land the German's signature.
Mesut-Ozil-Arsenal-Real-Madrid Related
[Arsenal's "frustrating" star may have just become their new Mesut Ozil](https://www.footballfancast.com/arsenals-frustrating-jesus-may-have-just-become-artetas-new-ozil/ "Arsenal's "frustrating" star may have just become their new Mesut Ozil")
The special talent has gone off the boil at Arsenal and perhaps resembles Mesut Ozil.