Arsenal are planning a serious revamp of their forward line this summer.
The Gunners fell short of the 2024/25 Premier League title by 10 points, but in truth, they were considerably inferior to a relentless Liverpool side this year.
Mikel Arteta’s men fell short of Manchester City (72) and the Reds (86) for goals scored in the Premier League this term.
Arsenal could capitalise on Leroy Sane contract expiry
Admittedly, the Premier League runners-up did spend a considerable portion of the campaign without their best attacking threat in Bukayo Saka. The England international missed 13 top-flight games.
Regardless, the hope is that moves for the likes of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig could see the pendulum swing back in Arsenal’s favour.
A further move to bolster the left wing with potential free agent Leroy Sane likewise wouldn’t hurt that ambition.
“Bayern signed Jonathan Tah this week (til 2029). There was a meeting with his agent Pini Zahavi (at the restaurant Käfer) with Max Eberl, head of sport at FC Bayern,” Christian Falk exclusively informed CaughtOffside in his latest Fact Files column.
“His other client with the club, Leroy Sané, was also under discussion. Bayern want to give the potential free agent a contract til 2028.
“But: Now there are other clubs interested. Zahavi is talking with Tottenham and Arsenal, but Chelsea are not very concrete.”
That is, of course, dependent on Sane opting to reject Bayern’s reportedly improved contract proposal. The German international’s current terms in Munich are set to expire this summer.
Arsenal need to improve on Martinelli and Trossard
At 23 years of age, Arsenal can hold out hope that Gabriel Martinelli’s numbers will improve in the long run.
But the fact remains that neither the Brazilian nor Leandro Trossard are producing the kinds of numbers you’d expect from a Premier League title-winning wide man.
The pair outperformed their collective xG (14.62) by 1.38 with 16 league goals. However, this still falls considerably short of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz’s collective xG (19.11) and the pair’s overperformance with 23 top-flight goals for Liverpool in the same season.
A small deficit, perhaps, but one that would have seen Arsenal leapfrog Manchester City for league goals scored in 2024/25.
Ultimately, whilst the need for a quality, central goalscorer is undeniable, it’s the little win on the left flank that could also help the Gunners close the gap to Liverpool next term.
