REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A year ago, Arsenal made as many as eight first-team signings in what turned out to be one of the biggest summers in the club's history.
Mikel Arteta meant business, investing in a host of players to raise the floor of the squad. It paid off. The Gunners won a first Premier League title in 22 years.
A year on, the north Londoners have tried desperately to raise the ceiling of the squad this time around. They are champions now and they should be acting like it.
Arsenal-Odegaard-Rice
Sadly, it hasn't gone all their own way. Morgan Rogers headed to Chelsea instead and Vinicius Junior ultimately turned Arsenal down in favour of staying at Real Madrid.
As a result, Arteta and Andrea Berta have considered alternatives to bolster their forward line. The number one target at the moment is Julian Alvarez.
Why Julian Alvarez is Arsenal's number one target
It would be safe to say that Arsenal have not done things the easy way this summer.
The negotiation for Rogers was never going to be easy when Chelsea came calling and they duly pulled out of the race when the Blues decided to pay a fee of £117m.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
It was never going to be easy with Vinicius Junior either. This is one of the game's biggest superstars. Arsenal thought they could bring him to the Emirates but their endevours ultimately proved fruitless.
With Alvarez, it will not be easy either. The player dreams of Barcelona and is not giving up on that ambition despite how much the Gunners have pushed for his signature.
So, why do they want him? Well, this is one of football's best centre-forwards right now. Since moving to Atletico Madrid, the Argentine has produced 29-goal and 20-goal seasons.
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He's ruthless in front of goal but knits that altogether with a really complete set of attributes. Alvarez has also demonstrated that he is a creator.
The 26-year-old registered nine assists last season and tallied up as many as 13 during his final campaign with Manchester City, a year he also scored 19 goals while playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland.
There are simply so many boxes that Alvarez ticks. He's Premier League-proven, something Arteta values enormously and he's versatile too.
This is a player who has dazzled as not just a striker, but also as a second striker and as a winger. He could cover so many bases for the Gunners.
However, might there be a more exciting signing for Arsenal to make?
Arsenal should sign Premier League striker over Alvarez
Over the last year it has been adundantly clear that Arsenal have been targeting win-now signings in their quest to create a title-winning dynasty.
We've seen it this summer with the arrivals of Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes and Aston Villa's vice captain Ezri Konsa. Alvarez would be another proven acquisition, someone who can come in and make an immediate impact.
REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
However, the Gunners should also be looking towards the future. That's where a certain Eli Junior Kroupi comes into the equation. Club insider Hand of Arsenal has reported that talks have been held this summer with the player's agent as they explore a future move.
To clarify one thing, Kroupi can't move now. The Bournemouth superstar has been ruled out for a number of months with an ankle injury. So, do Arsenal stick or twist?
Really, they should consider the benefits of waiting for Kroupi in January or indeed next summer. Why? Well, as Daniel Sturridge put it last season, the French youngster is already "one of the best finishers in the Premier League."
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Havertz vs Kroupi: 25/26 league stats
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Sure, Alvarez is ready to make an impact now but Kroupi could too. He is also on course to be one of the best strikers in world football in the forthcoming years.
He's already been heralded as "the next Mbappe" by GOAL.com and proved why that could be the case during a remarkable debut season on English shores.
After trading Lorient for Bournemouth a year ago, he went onto score 13 times. No teenager has ever scored more during their maiden campaign in the Premier League. Now 20, Kroupi is ready to go up a level once he returns from injury.
Coincidentally, he does share similarities to Alvarez too. The Cherries wonderkid didn't register an assist last term but he's ultra dynamic and boasts similar versatility to Arsenal's number one target.
AFC Bournemouth's Junior Kroupi celebrates scoring their first goal
Last term, Kroupi spent the campaign playing either as a centre-forward or second striker/attacking midfielder, scoring seven in 19 while leading the line and bagging six in 16 when playing slightly deeper.
He's also got the ability to play out wide. During his final season in France, he netted seven goals in six games while playing from the left wing. Whisper it quietly, but there is something of an early Thierry Henry vibe to Kroupi's play.
He will not be easy to extract from the South Coast but it may well be worth waiting for him to be fit and available again. After all, with Alvarez preferring Barca, he clearly hasn't brought into the Arsenal project.
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Investing their funds into a player with the potential to become one of the game's biggest stars makes a lot more sense right now. After all, the Gunners do already have Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres who are in their primes. This move would but them more time too.
Kroupi is just such an exciting talent; it would be crazy for Arteta and Co to ignore him.