It’s been a brilliant summer for Arsenal.
New Sporting Director Andrea Berta has hit the ground running in North London, already securing several first additions as well as some squad depth.
However, even though he is doing a good job, it does feel like Liverpool are doing better, with stars like Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz already through the doors and Hugo Ekitiké just a matter of time.
Fortunately, there is still time for the Gunners to conduct more business, and now it appears they’re working on a deal to sign the next Ekitike, once they finalise the deal for Viktor Gyokeres, of course.
Arsenal target another striker
There have already been numerous transfer sagas this summer, and the biggest for Arsenal has centred on Gyokeres.
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For some time, it looked like the club were going to sign Slovenian marksman Benjamin Sesko, only for RB Leipzig to price him out of a move, and since then, all eyes have been on the Swede.
While a deal has not been entirely completed yet, it appears that the Gunners will be securing their man for an initial £55m, plus the extensive add-ons that are still being negotiated.
However, the club are not done there when it comes to signing strikers, as they’ve now been linked with another who could be a future Ekitike.
At least that is according to a recent report from Football Transfers, which claims Arsenal are very interested in Mainz forward Nelson Weiper.
The report has revealed that the Gunners are actively monitoring the 20-year-old prospect, although they have yet to make a formal approach.
If the North Londoners do decide to act on their clear interest, then they’ll have to stump up a reasonable fee, as the German is valued at around €14m by the Bundesliga side, which is about £12m.
It might seem like a lot for someone so young, but Weiper looks like a serious talent, and someone already being compared to Ekitike.
How Weiper compares to Ekitke
So, we know that comparing someone like Weiper to a player who is about to cost a king’s ransom might sound a bit silly, but there are some similarities, and we aren’t the only ones to make this comparison.
For example, FBref analysed players in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League, and the Europa League over the last 365 days, and concluded that the Eintracht Frankfurt star is the second most similar forward to the Mainz ace.
The best way to understand how that conclusion was reached is by examining some of the underlying metrics in which the pair ranked closely.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.64
0.77
Progressive Carries
1.67
1.86
Shots on Target
1.53
1.53
Live Passes
20.5
20.6
Tackles
0.64
0.56
Successful Take-On %
47.6%
43.7%
Aerial Duel Win %
43.6%
46.8%
These include things like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots on target, successful take-on percentage and more, all per 90.
These numbers also suggest that with more game time and development, we could potentially see the 20-year-old reach a level of output comparable to the Frenchman.
After all, in just 698 minutes of first-team football last season, the “golden” prospect, as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, scored three goals and provided two assists, which comes out to a healthy average of a goal involvement every 139.6 minutes.
Moreover, his youth statistics are truly impressive, as in just 19 games for Mainz’s under-19s, he has scored 22 goals and provided one assist, and in just 474 minutes for Germany’s U21s, he has scored four goals and provided one assist.
Ultimately, if Arsenal do sign Weiper this summer, fans should not expect him to have a massive impact on the first team, but he does look like he’s developing into an excellent striker, and who knows, he could just be the next Ekitike.
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