Thierry Henry Arsenal
Arsenal are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table, and are currently unbeaten in the Champions League this season, but Mikel Arteta still wants more.
The Gunners have won eight of their nine games in the top flight so far this season, while they have won two out of three in the Champions League, with a draw against Bayern Munich in Germany being the only result to stop them from a 100% record. A shock defeat to Fleetwood in the EFL Cup is the big downer on their campaign so far, but it's quite clear that was a blip in what has otherwise been a good season.
Once again their successes have been built on the incredible strength of their defence, with Ezri Konsa seamlessly filling in for the injured William Saliba in the centre alongside Gabriel, while Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Piero Hincapie have all pulled their weight too.
Going forward, the team have been less impressive. Kai Havertz scored the winner at Anfield but his form hasn't been great, while Viktor Gyokeres' only goal this season came in the defeat to Fleetwood. Bukayo Saka is injured, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze have failed to impress, and Christos Tzolis has only just returned from a muscle injury.
It has proven why Mikel Arteta was keen to bolster the attack in the summer, with moves for Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Jr falling by the wayside when they both opted to sign elsehwere, with Rogers going to Chelsea and the Brazil superstar extending his deal at Real Madrid.
Julian Alvarez was also someone looked at strongly, but he is desperate for a move to Barcelona and when Atletico Madrid refused to sell, he ended up staying in Spain instead of returning to the Premier League.
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With those moves now all off the table heading into 2027, and Arteta still keen to strengthen the attack, The Mirror report that the Spanish manager is now pushing to get a deal done for Bournemouth sensation Eli Junior Kroupi in the January transfer window.
The France youth international became the teenager with the most Premier League goals in his debut season last year for the Cherries, but has missed the majority of this season after suffering an injury during pre-season. That knock meant that several interested clubs in the summer couldn't make their move, but his return to fitness means a January deal could be revisited.
Bournemouth do not want to sell, and will hold firm on their stance, especially with Alex Scott expected to leave after they opened the door to his sale. But Newcastle didn't want to sell Bruno Guimaraes and Aston Villa didn't want to sell Konsa, until Arsenal came up with the right price to find an agreement.
If they want to get a deal done, they will need to do the same again, and Kroupi is the type of talent who could go on to become their next Thierry Henry.
A Horizontal Bar Chart Depicting Most goals scored by teenagers in debut PL season Including Fowler (Liverpool) – 9394,
Kroupi Would Be Perfect Arsenal Forward
via Reuters
Kroupi is a talented young forward, one of the best young players in the Premier League, who is at his best through the middle but can drift out wide and occupy entire defences. He's a great passer, good dribbler, strong finisher, and links brilliantly with his teammates too.
His style of play is reminiscent of Gunners legend Henry, who arrived at Highbury as a youngster and went on to become the club's all-time top goalscorer. But that's not the only person who he has been compared to.
Former teammate Tiemoue Bakayoko said he reminded him of Kylian Mbappe, while the official Premier League website compared him to Man City legend Sergio Aguero.
“He’s a phenomenon. He reminds me a little of [Kylian] Mbappe in the maturity of his game.”
Someone with that much talent should be right at the top of the Arsenal wishlist to bolster a problem area of the pitch, and with Arteta clearly pushing to get a deal done, it's one the owners should be going all out for.
It won't be cheap, and it won't be easy, but a deal is clearly there to be done at some stage, and Arsenal need reinforcements in January.
Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze