Arsenal’s coup of bringing in Alexandre Lacazette’s was one of the biggest talking points for Arsenal this summer. Despite the Frenchman’s arrival, Arsenal has had a rather slow start in the Premier League with only seven points from the first five games.
After back to back losses against Liverpool and Stoke City, the Gunners have bounced back, after defeating Bournemouth 3-0 and drawing Chelsea 0-0 at the Stamford Bridge. It’s quite apparent from their game that they lack offensive firepower. In addition, Lucas Perez’s departure left them a little light in terms of strikers.
If reports in Italy are to be believed, Arsenal were in for Napoli star Dries Mertens before the Belgian penned a new deal. Despite the new deal, the forward has a rather humble buyout clause which is reported to be in the region of £26.5m and Arsenal may perhaps trigger it if they happen to lose their main man Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City.
Mertens scored an awe-inspiring 28 goals last season in 35 appearances, missing out on the golden boot by only a single goal and helping the Italian outfit to a third-place finish in Serie A.
He thrived in a more offensive role after he was switched from a winger to a forward. Dries Mertens could turn out to be the ideal replacement for Sanchez. Mertens could turn out to be the perfect man to adequately replace the Chilean. There were also reports about failed transfer talks with Chelsea but decided to stay at Napoli and signed a three-year deal till 2020.
Mertens already has seven goals and three assists to his name this season. Normally deployed as a centre-forward, Mertens can also be played as a wide forward or a right-sided attacking midfielder. He has some excellent finishing skills and can is quite good at taking long shots and is also a threat from set-pieces.
If Arsene Wenger successfully brings in the 30-year-old, he might be deployed as a wide forward with Alexandre Lacazette quite likely to remain as the main striker. Despite his diminutive figure, he is quite skilful and is a tricky customer to deal with. During his previous years, he had a knack for making some rampaging run down the right-hand side.
Because of his make runs in the box and finish, he was then given the role of striker which he made his own. Wenger will get a closer look at the striker when Napoli takes on Manchester City in the Champions League.
It remains to be seen whether the French gaffer goes in for Mertens in Summer. The move may be fueled by Alexis Sanchez’s departure to Manchester City or PSG.
