Because of their tremendous success from the previous season, Arsenal is in the fortunate position of having few areas of the team that need to be improved this summer.

Even though Mikel Arteta’s squad had a terrible time scoring goals during the holidays and ended the season five goals short of Manchester City, there is no doubt that fans want a striker to be assigned.

It is therefore not surprising that the Gunners have been connected to several top strikers over the last few weeks; but, the links to Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke have gotten stronger in recent days.

Even still, a far better player has been heavily urged for a transfer to the Emirates, despite the Englishman’s prowess as a center-forward.

Arsenal’s search for a forward

An Italian daily Corriere dello Sport has reported that Arsenal is still interested in Sporting CP player Viktor Gyokeres.

In fact, the story claims that the Gunners are “very aggressive” in their pursuit of the Swedish goal scorer, but it doesn’t elaborate on this claim or provide an estimate of the cost to the North Londoners of acquiring him.

However, a number of projected costs have surfaced in recent weeks, with estimates varying from £67 million to £84 million, depending on the source.

Gyokeres will ultimately cost Arsenal a substantial sum of money, but considering his amazing play from the previous campaign, he is well worth it and a far more interesting addition than Solanke.

How Gyokeres and Solanke are similar

So, let’s start with the most important statistic to consider when contrasting these two outstanding strikers: raw output.

Solanke scored 21 goals and provided four assists in his 42 appearances for Bournemouth last season, which is a remarkable average of one goal every 1.68 games, but it is nothing compared to his competitors.

For example, in his 50 Sporting appearances during the previous season, Gyokeres netted an amazing 43 goals and provided 15 assists. That equals a staggering 1.16 goals per game, or 0.86 goals per game on average.

The Swedish team is referred to as the “powerhouse” by data analyst Ben Mattinson since it leads in the majority of important metrics, demonstrating the bias of the comparison in the pair’s underlying statistics.

In terms of non-penalty predicted goals plus assists, actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, shoots and shots on target, goal and shot-creating actions, and successful take-ons, he is far better than everyone else, all measured in ninety seconds. He is second in aerial duels won and progressive passes, for example.

Gyokeres would ultimately be a superior addition to the Gunners this summer because neither Solanke’s output nor the underlying statistics favour Gyokeres in any manner.

Therefore, in the following weeks, Edu Gaspar and company must do all within their power to secure his services, even if it means going bankrupt. He might be the player who paves the way for North London to return to the Premier League the following season.