Arsenal need to find a Robin van Persie. It could be a touchy subject at the Emirates, where the former Gunners centre-forward is viewed with disdain rather than affection after joining Manchester United for £24million in 2012, but if Mikel Arteta’s side find a goalscorer to do for them What Van Persie did for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, Arsenal’s days as the Premier League’s ‘almost team’ could be over.
Van Persie – or infamously, if you’re an Arsenal supporter – left the Emirates after growing tired of repeated failure to win trophies. He instead signed for United, where his 26 goals in 38 league appearances helped Ferguson win United’s last and most recent Premier League title in 2012-13.
Sometimes just one signature can make all the difference. Eric Cantona transformed United from mid-table to champions in 1992-93, and Van Persie had a similar transformative effect 20 years later. Having twice finished second to Manchester City in the title race in 2022-23 and 2023-24, Arteta’s Arsenal now find themselves in the position Ferguson’s United managed to escape to by signing Cantona and Van Persie, especially with the two. Bukayo Saka (hamstrings) and Raheem Sterling (knee) now risks “weeks” of absence after being injured in recent days.
But even though Arsenal’s lack of a reliable centre-forward has been an obvious problem for almost two years, they still haven’t solved the problem.
City’s overall strength and superiority – not to mention the goals of Erling Haaland – would likely have denied Arsenal the last two titles, whether or not Arteta’s side had a world-class centre-forward of their own. Yet with City in turmoil this season, Arsenal’s failure to properly strengthen their attacking options this summer looks set to cost them another title, with Arne Slot’s Liverpool slipping away at the top of the table thanks largely to 15 goals already scored in the league. marked by Mohamed Salah.
Kai Havertz is Arsenal’s top scorer in the league this season with just six goals, putting him 14th in the race for the Golden Boot. Saka is 22nd, with five. Had Arteta signed a proven goalscorer, those frustrating draws against Brighton, Fulham and Everton – as well as failures to beat City and Liverpool – might have had a more positive outcome, and Arsenal could well head into 2025 with much more success. more chances to become champion for the first time since 2004.
But is it really easy to find a modern-day Van Persie or Cantona? Or that Arsenal goes back in time and discovers another Ian Wright, Nicolas Anelka or Thierry Henry?
Arteta’s stubbornness about his ability and character may be why Arsenal didn’t take risks Ivan Toney last summer, ahead of the England striker’s £40 million move from Brentford to Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli. He probably could have made more of an effort to sign RB Leipzig Benjamin Sesko or sports CP Viktor Gyökeresif he had been truly convinced of the need for a full number 9. However, when looking for the final piece of the puzzle, it is understandable that the standards and expectations may be unrealistic. And Arsenal’s situation is not helped by the state of the center forward market by 2025.
“Everyone is looking for a centre-forward who scores 20 goals a season, but the best ones are at the biggest clubs and the rest are unproven,” a former Premier League sporting director told ESPN . “City has Haaland, Bayern Munich has Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski is in Barcelona and Real Madrid signed Kylian Mbappé for free (from PSG). Beyond that, you take risks.
“Gyokeres and Samu Omorodion (FC Porto) are scoring a lot of goals this season, but the Portuguese League is not strong enough to be sure of their ability to succeed in a top league. Darwin Nuñez (who signed for Liverpool from Benfica) is an example.
“Look around Europe and see who the big nations rely on to score goals. France have Mbappe and England have Kane, and they are both at elite clubs. Álvaro Morata was the main Spanish striker, but he failed at Chelsea; Cristiano Ronaldo is almost 40 years old and still plays for Portugal; and Italy has no attacker. Besides Havertz, Germany has Timo Werner And Nicolas Fullkrugbut both are really struggling in England (at Spurs and West Ham respectively). It’s a really difficult area to find a top player.”
Sources told ESPN that Arteta opted not to pursue Toney last summer, preferring to rely on Havertz, Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Sterling, who was loaned by Chelsea. Interest was strong in Gyokeres, but with a €100m (£83m) release clause at Sporting, the fee was too high for a player who had only left Coventry’s EFL Championship side than for an initial £17.5 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, Sesko had a poor Euro 2024 campaign with Slovenia and signed a new contract with Leipzig, while Omorodion headed to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid until a medical setback saw the deal abandoned by the Stamford Bridge team.
At the start of this season, Arteta and Arsenal lacked an ideal option and every potential signing would have been a gamble. But six months later, their reluctance to act is starting to look like hesitation and caution, with every missed opportunity on the field mirroring the missed opportunities off it.
Finding the striker who will transform Arsenal from contenders to champions has now become a pressing matter, but their options are the same ones they chose to reject this summer.
