He's like Isak & Mbappe: Arsenal chasing Europe's "most inform player"

The last week or so has been nothing short of spectacular for Arsenal.

Yes, they may have dropped more points in the Premier League, but in the Champions League, they’ve beaten the holders Real Madrid 3-0 at home and then 2-1 away, becoming the first English team to win their first two matches against Los Blancos at the Bernabeu.

It’s been a miraculous turnaround in what’s been a surprisingly tough season for the Gunners, both due to poor form and a seemingly never-ending slew of injuries, which have, at points, left their frontline precariously thin on the ground.

Fortunately, the board seem intent on ensuring this problem doesn’t arise again next year, as recent reports have linked the club with one of the best attackers in Europe, someone compared to Alexander Isak and Kylian Mbappé.

Arsenal transfer news

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other stars who have been heavily touted for moves to the Emirates in the summer, such as Nico Williams.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The Athletic Bilbao star reportedly has a £50m release clause in his current contract, and with an impressive tally of 11 goals and seven assists in 42 appearances this season, he’d be a fine addition to Arteta’s array of young wingers.

Down the middle, the name most heavily linked with a potential move to N5 in recent weeks has been Sporting CP superstar Viktor Gyokeres, who would reportedly cost around £60m.

While that is a lot of money, it could still prove to be a bargain, as in just 45 appearances this season, the Swedish tour de force has scored 44 goals and provided 11 assists, which comes out to an average of 1.22 goal involvements per game.

However, there is still an element of doubt over the Stockholm-born monster as he remains relatively untested when it comes to a top-five league, unlike Ousmane Dembélé.

Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of a few ‘clubs showing an interest in an ambitious potential summer transfer’ for the French international.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has revealed that Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are all big admirers of the versatile forward, which could make an already complicated move even more so.

It would undoubtedly be a costly move as well, but given Dembélé’s immense ability, and the fact he’s been compared to Isak and Mbappé, it’s one worth fighting for.

How Dembélé compares to Isak and Mbappé

Okay, before getting into some of the other reasons why Arsenal should sign Dembélé, it’s worth examining these comparisons to Isak and Mbappé and where they come from.

Well, in this instance, they stem from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one and, in this instance, has concluded that the Real Madrid star is the third most similar forward to the Frenchman and the Swede is the sixth.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the trio rank closely, including, but not limited to, goals per shot, crosses into the penalty area, non-penalty expected goals per shot, tackles won, percentage of successful take-ons and more, all per 90.

However, while sharing some similarities with two of the best forwards in the world is undoubtedly one argument for signing the French international, it’s not the only one.

Another is the fact that he’s been in simply sublime form this season, with former professional-turned-pundit Joe Cole labelling him “the most in-form player, let alone winger, in European football.”

It’s not hard to see where Cole’s coming from either, as in just 42 appearances, totalling 2815 minutes, the former Barcelona star has scored 32 goals and provided 11 assists.

That means he is currently averaging 1.02 goal involvements every game, or one every 65.46 minutes, which is a world-class level of output.

Ultimately, it could be an incredibly difficult transfer to get over the line, but if there is a chance Arsenal can sign Dembélé this summer, they have to take it, as he could be transformational.

Related

Arsenal ask Real Madrid about signing £62m forward in William Saliba talks

The Gunners are fresh off the back of an historic Champions League tie with Carlo Ancelotti’s side.