Arsenal pushing to sign £38m star with “electric pace”

Arsenal are set to announce their first batch of summer recruits soon.

Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as well as midfielders Martín Zubimendi and Christian Nørgaard are all reportedly poised to join Arsenal in the next week or so, the former providing a back-up to David Raya, while the latter duo will be replacing the outgoing Thomas Partey and Jorginho at the base of midfield.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta, Andrea Berta and the Arsenal hierarchy still have plenty of work to do.

Arsenal targeting attacking reinforcements

After a third successive second-place finish in the Premier League, it is clear what Arsenal need to add this summer and that is more attacking firepower, as the table below outlines.

As shown in the table, last season, when compared to their two previous title bids under Arteta, the Gunners’ attacking output was significantly down by all available metrics.

That’s why the debate of the summer remains Benjamin Šeško or Viktor Gyökeres, with the club clearly in the market for the new number nine, but they’re also looking for reinforcements out-wide too.

Thus, according to reports in Spain, Arsenal are ‘strongly’ interested in signing Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, with the Gunners said to be ‘pushing’ for his signature.

They add that the German international, who is believed to be available for around €45m (£38m), is viewed as a ‘serious alternative’ to Barcelona-bound Nico Williams, as he would add ‘explosiveness’ to Arsenal’s forward line.

The 23-year-old began his senior career at RB Salzburg, scoring four Champions League goals for die Roten Bullen, thereby earning a £38m move to Borussia Dortmund three summers ago.

So far, in 105 appearances for die Schwarzgelben, Adeyemi has scored 26 goals and registered 17 assists, featuring in all three of their Club World Cup fixtures this summer, starting against both Fluminense in East Rutherford and Ulsan HD in Ohio.

Now, could he become the 13th German to play for Arsenal, joining current Die Mannschaft teammate Kai Havertz, while following in the footsteps of Mesut Özil, Bernd Leno, Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and others?

How Karim Adeyemi would improve Arsenal

Arsenal are looking to improve their left-wing options, with most agreeing that an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli​​​​​​​ and Leandro Trossard, or at the very least an alternative to both, is required to take the Gunners to the next level.

Nevertheless, speaking on the Arsecast, Andrew Mangan and James McNicholas both agreed that it is highly “unlikely” that the Gunners will sign two wingers this summer, so someone who can play on the left but also cover for Bukayo Saka on the right would be ideal.

Well, Adeyemi certainly fits that brief, having been deployed on both flanks by both Dortmund managers, Nuri Şahin and Niko Kovač, throughout this season.

So, let’s assess how he compares to the gold standard of Arsenal wide-players, namely the aforementioned Saka – a player he is deemed to be statistically similar to among those in their position across Europe’s top five leagues, as per FBref.

FBref disclaimer: these statistics are based upon matches played in domestic leagues and UEFA club competitions across the last 365 days, and are in comparison to other attacking midfielders and wingers.

As the table outlines, Saka does come out on top for the vast majority of metrics, but that is not to be dismissive of Adeyemi, given that the England international is one of the best players in the world, at least according to teammate Martinelli.

The German’s statistics are broadly comparable to those of Saka, scoring more non-penalty goals and successfully completing a higher percentage of his take-ons.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout describes him as possessing “electric pace” and “superb dribbling skills”, simply labelling him a “world-class talent”.

Meantime, Lee Scott of Total Football Analysis believes that he provides ‘a direct goal threat’ and the ability to ‘carry the ball at speed past defenders’, while Tunde Young of Breaking the Lines boldly asserts ‘he could go on to be a multiple Ballon D’Or winner, just like Lionel Messi’.

Thus, it is clear that Adeyemi ticks a lot of boxes for Arsenal and would be an excellent, exciting addition, should they be able to pull this deal off. He could well prove to be like a left-sided Saka.

Related

£200k-a-week Arsenal star “set to leave” as director travels for UK talks

He’s poised to leave the Gunners imminently.