Victor Osimhen is Arsenal's answer to Erling Haaland

Cameron Smith

16 Oct 2023 10:36 BST
5 min read

Victor Osimhen, Erling Haaland — © ProShots

Arsenal came so close to the 2022-23 Premier League title, but fell at the last hurdle as Manchester City aced the finale while the Gunners stumbled.

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Mikel Arteta’s side have regrouped and look set to challenge for top spot once again this season, although their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur may also be set to fight for the title too.

The €116.6 million summer addition of Declan Rice was a statement signing in more ways than one, and the fact Arsenal beat Man City in the race for the England international was a real coup for the Gunners.

Kai Havertz is yet to settle in, while Jurrien Timber’s unfortunate ACL injury has ruled him out for the majority of the season, but Arsenal have still strengthened with the acquisition of Rice and David Raya (loan).

However, they are still lacking an Erling Haaland-esque presence through the middle.

Man City were arguably a more complete team before the Norwegian joined, but few can argue his arrival has harmed Pep Guardiola’s side given he scored 52 goals in his debut campaign as City won a historic treble.

As for Arsenal, they took the opposite approach. Having offloaded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2022 (the Gabon international had previously been relied upon for goals), Arteta signed Gabriel Jesus from Man City.

For all the Brazilian’s qualities, he is not a clinical finisher, and Arsenal shared the goals around their forward line. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all scored 15 times in all competitions and Jesus added 11 himself.

This strategy helped Arsenal come within touching distance of a first league title since 2004, but it wasn’t enough.

Do Arsenal need a Haaland-esque striker?

Now, one main focal point of goals may not be an ideology that Arteta agrees with and the Spaniard would be well within reason to lean that way.

After all, Haaland is reliant on service and he can often go missing in games if chances aren’t being created for him. That was seen in Man City’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal on 8 October and during Norway’s defeat against Spain during the October international break.

A player in this mould may not suit Arteta’s Arsenal, but it may be the only way to challenge Man City while Haaland is at the club.

As a result, their pursuit of Victor Osimhen is little surprise. David Ornstein has reported that Arsenal are unlikely to sign Osimhen, or any striker in fact, during the January window, but Osimhen would provide the Gunners with a Haaland-like figure spearheading their attack.

The Napoli man is far more adept at creating his own chances than Haaland and relies less on precise chance-creation, but he is similar to the Norwegian in his lack of involvement in build-up.

So far this season, his statistics back this up when compared to the aforementioned Jesus.

The Brazilian likes to drop deep to link play and help Arsenal build up through the thirds, but he is not a pure striker and does not always have the finishing touch to match his immense close control.

For example, Osimhen’s mere 9.31 passes per 90 this season is a figure dwarfed by Jesus’ 28.38, but the Nigerian takes 3.61 shots per 90 compared to Jesus’ 1.35.

Osimhen’s xG per 90 of 0.78 is also in a different stratosphere to Jesus’ 0.18 and shows how the Napoli man is a far more goal-focused striker in comparison to Arsenal’s starting number nine.

Osimhen vs Jesus vs Haaland - League statistics in 2023/24 so far

	Victor Osimhen	Gabriel Jesus	Erling Haaland
Minutes	648	333	750
Goals P90	0.83	0.27	0.96
xG P90	0.78	0.18	0.88
Shots P90	3.61	1.35	3.24
Passes P90	9.31	28.38	9.72
Dribbles P90	5.97	12.70	1.80
Defensive Recoveries P90	1.53	6.22	0.96

Jesus has helped Arsenal reach a level to compete with Man City, but if the Gunners are to overhaul Pep Guardiola’s machine then they perhaps need a Haaland-like figure in the form of Victor Osimhen.