Arsenal and Real Madrid told PERFECT striker is ‘this generation’s Thierry Henry’

Robin Bairner

• 11 Nov 2024 06:54 GMT
• 4 min read

Arsenal and Real Madrid have both been told that the solution to their offensive problems lies with Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, a striker who is “this generation’s Thierry Henry”.

Isak is a player who has been linked with both clubs in the past, but while Los Blancos elected to move for their No.1 target in Kylian Mbappe, the Gunners have kept their powder dry in the transfer market and might yet have the capacity to move for the Sweden international.

The 25-year-old netted against Nottingham Forest on Sunday to score in his fourth successive match. He’s no flat-track bully either, having scored against Chelsea (twice), Arsenal and Nuno Espirito Santo’s in-form side.

STATS

Alexander Isak

F (C)

Newcastle Utd.

Alexander Isak

F (C)

Newcastle Utd.

Premier League

2024/25

• 9

  Games

• 4

  Goals

• 2

  Assists

View all stats

The player Real Madrid should have signed

Speaking to the BBC on 'Match of the Day 2', Theo Walcott says Isak is the type of player Mikel Arteta should be looking to sign and Real Madrid should have signed instead of Mbappe.

“When you talk about the mould for the ultimate build of a perfect striker, Isak has got all of those elements,” the former England attacker said. “I am not saying he is perfect yet, but he has got all the attributes he needs to become perfect.

“Look at Real Madrid’s line-up at this moment in time. They go for these Galacticos and buy these incredible talents, but they sometimes put them in positions where they can’t quite do it.

“I would say that if you put Isak in that Real team then he moulds them together in a different way, where you might think they now look like a very well-balanced team.

“That’s the level he's at, and I can absolutely understand why all the very top teams would want him.

“As well as his all-round forward play, he scores goals as well - all kinds of different goals. His finish against Forest when the ball dropped for him in the box was pure class, after the brilliant header he put away against Arsenal last week.”

An Henry for the current generation

Walcott, who played 397 times for Arsenal, explained that the way Isak plays strongly resembles Henry, the Gunners’ record scorer.

“The ability to rotate positions and occupy every role in a frontline is part of what makes him a constant threat. As a player he is something pretty unique in the Premier League right now, and for me he is the closest thing we have seen to another Thierry Henry,” he said.

“Henry started out wide, so he knew that role very well, and Isak's pace and strength means he is excellent in those areas too. But where Henry was not particularly great was with his back to goal, or heading the ball, and Isak can head it - the perfect example of that was his winning goal against Arsenal last week.

“I would say he is this generation’s Henry, but with extra attributes in the air. That's who I would compare him to from my era, anyway.

“His game makes him a mix of Didier Drogba, Michael Owen and Henry - oh and with a dash of Theo Walcott's pace out wide. That's not a bad mix at all, is it?”

Arsenal were heavily linked with Isak last summer, where Newcastle had fears they might have to sell due to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).