He's a lot like Isak: Arsenal make contact to sign £42m Havertz upgrade

Ask Arsenal fans what it is they need this summer, and the most common answer you’ll get is a striker.

No players hit double digits for Premier League goals in Mikel Arteta’s squad this season, whereas Arne Slot had three players manage the feat, with Mohamed Salah racking up an unreal 29.

Such an evident weakness in the squad has seen the club linked with a host of incredible strikers over the last few months, and while Alexander Isak is undoubtedly at the top of most supporters’ wishlists, his supposed £150m price tag now looks secure as ever following Newcastle United’s qualification for the Champions League on Sunday.

However, while the Swede may be out of reach, recent reports have linked the Gunners with another exciting centre-forward who has won comparisons to him, a centre-forward who’d be a significant Kai Havertz upgrade.

Arsenal’s striker search

While it might not always feel like it, there are quite a few strikers who could be on the market this summer, and plenty of them have been touted for moves to Arsenal, such as Viktor Gyokeres and Joao Pedro.

The former has long been linked with the Gunners and could finally be available for close to £63m in the coming weeks, which might just be a steal considering he’s racked up a sublime haul of 54 goals and 13 assists in 52 games for Sporting CP this season.

On the other hand, Pedro might be a harder transfer to justify, as while his tally of ten goals and seven assists in 30 games is impressive, his supposed £100m price tag feels exorbitant.

Fortunately, another striker has now been linked with the North Londoners, someone compared to the incredible Isak: Nick Woltemade.

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of a handful of clubs incredibly keen on the German forward.

The report claims that Arsenal and Serie A champions Napoli have already made contact with VfB regarding the talented goalscorer, while the likes of Atlético Madrid and West Ham United are currently keeping tabs on the situation.

On top of getting ahead of the competition, the North Londoners would have to stump up around €50m to secure the 23-year-old’s signature, which is about £42m.

It might not be the big-name signing some fans want, but on top of the comparisons to Newcastle’s superstar striker, Woltemade would be an upgrade on Havertz.

How Woltemade compares to Isak & Havertz

Before we take a look at how Woltemade stacks up against Havertz, the man he could replace at Arsenal, it’s worth examining this comparison to Isak and where it has come from.

In this instance, it stems from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, before creating a list of the ten most comparable players.

By doing this, it has been concluded that the Swedish international is the second most similar forward to the German across the last 365 days.

The best way to see how this is worked out is by taking a look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots on target, switches, progressive passes, goal-taking actions and more, all per 90.

With his similarities to the Toon star cleared up, how does he stack up against the Gunners’ number 29?

Well, when it comes to their raw output, which is ultimately what matters most for a striker, it is the “exceptional” Stuttgart star, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, who comes out on top.

For example, in 33 appearances, totalling 2039 minutes this term, the Bremen-born poacher scored 17 goals and provided three assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.65 games, or every 101.95 minutes.

In contrast, the former Chelsea ace has scored 15 goals and provided five assists in 36 appearances, totalling 2809 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.8 games, or every 140.45 minutes.

Ultimately, Havertz could still be an incredibly useful player next season, but as things stand, Woltemade looks to the superior striker, and therefore, Arsenal should do what they can to sign him this summer.

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