Arsenal targeting "world-class" Havertz upgrade in astronomical £90m move

It’s been something of an up-and-down season for Arsenal this year.

Mikel Arteta’s side have been incredible in the Champions League and have a League Cup semi-final to look forward to, but in the Premier League, they have been subpar.

As things stand, the Gunners find themselves in third and nine points off league leaders Liverpool and have scored ten fewer goals, leading to fans and pundits suggesting they need offensive reinforcements next year.

So, it should come as no surprise, then, that recent reports have linked the club to one of the most exciting attackers in the league, someone who could spell trouble for Kai Havertz’s long-term place in the starting lineup.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from TEAMtalk, Arsenal have a concrete interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha.

The report has revealed that the Brazilian ace is considered a more realistic target for the summer transfer window but that there is a world where he could join next month.

According to the story, the Old Gold would only sell their star attacker in January if an ‘astronomical offer’ was put on the table, which would be around the £90m mark.

Regardless of when the North Londoners make their move, they should be looking to sign Cunha, as he has been sublime for Wolves and could be a dream Havertz upgrade.

How Cunha compares to Havertz

Now, at this point in time, it’s Gabriel Jesus who is leading the line for Arsenal.

Yet, based on his poor form over this year and the fact he failed to put the ball in the back of the net against Ipswich Town on Friday, we would expect Havertz to find himself back in the starting striker role soon enough.

Therefore, were the Gunners to complete the signing of Cunha next year, it’s the German who would be his primary competition for a starting berth up top, but who comes out on top when we compare them.

Well, the first port of call for any centre-forward is their raw output, and this is where things get interesting.

For example, so far this season, the former Chelsea ace has scored 12 goals and provided three assists, whereas the “sensational” Wolves star, as dubbed by pundit Micah Richards, has scored ten goals and provided four assists.

However, the former did so in 25 appearances while the latter did so in just 20, meaning they averaged a goal involvement on average every 1.66 and 1.41 games, respectively.

Okay, how about their underlying numbers, then? Is it another narrow victory for the former Atlético Madrid forward when we take a look under the hood?

Indeed, it is, as in practically every relevant metric, he comes out ahead, and by quite some way.

For example, the “world-class” talent, as dubbed by writer George Lakin, produces more non-penalty goals plus assists, more progressive passes and carries, more shot and goal-creating actions, more successful take-ons and more shots and shots on target, all per 90.

Ultimately, Havertz has proven himself to be an incredibly useful player over the last season and a bit, and it seems unlikely he’d be totally jettisoned from the squad anytime soon.

However, Cunha appears to be quite comfortably the superior player, so if Arsenal have the chance to sign him next year, they must take it, even if that means decreasing the German’s importance to the team.

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