Arsenal’s number one priority this summer is clear: sign a striker.
On Saturday morning, Fabrizio Romano reported that the Gunners are close to signing Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, expected to trigger his £51m release clause.
However, this is likely to be just the start of Mikel Arteta’s summer spending, with a new centre-forward top of the agenda, after Arsenal were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain at the semi-final stage on Wednesday, despite accumulating an xG figure of 5.11 across the two legs, scoring just once.
So, could they secure a “huge talent” who might just be their best striker since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang?
Arsenal's interest in a new striker
As reported earlier this week, Arsenal are believed to have made an offer for Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap over the possibility of a summer move.
Following the Tractor Boys’ relegation, it was reported by Jacob Steinberg, Nick Ames and Jamie Jackson of the Guardian that Delap now has a £30m release clause, which represents a bargain, given that Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout believes he is a “huge talent”.
As a result, Arsenal are certainly not the only club interested, with Wayne Veysey of Football Insider noting that Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Chelsea are also courting the striker, while Danny Rust and Dean Jones of Give Me Sport claim that Tottenham have also ‘set their sights’ on signing him.
Nevertheless, on course for a third successive top two finish, and in serious need of a new centre-forward, Arsenal could be the most attractive proposition presented to Delap, so could he be the striker they’ve been searching for since a certain high-profile departure.
Why Delap could emulate Aubameyang
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £55m in January 2018, still, to this day, the fourth-highest fee the club have ever paid, behind only Kai Havertz, Nicolas Pépé and Declan Rice.
The Gabonese international certainly made an instant impact in North London, scoring just 37 minutes into his debut against Everton, netting 92 times in just 163 appearances for the club in total, leaving him right up there in terms of modern Arsenal greats.
Thierry Henry
228
Ian Wright
185
Robin van Persie
132
Dennis Bergkamp
120
Alan Smith
113
Theo Walcott
108
Olivier Giroud
105
Paul Merson
99
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
92
Aubameyang’s finest moment came in the 2020 FA Cup, scoring twice to defeat Manchester City in the semi-finals, before bagging another brace against Chelsea in the final in a 2-1 victory, securing the club’s most recent major silverware.
Straight after the final, Aubameyang was rewarded with a new three-year contract but, by 6 December 2021, he had played his final game for the club, seeing this same contract terminated to allow him to join Barcelona as a free agent, following a high-profile falling out with Arteta.
So, could Delap be the Aubameyang replacement three and a half years in the making?
Well, let’s compare Delap’s exploits for Ipswich this season with Aubameyang’s best campaign at Arsenal.
Appearances
34
36
Minutes
2,515
2,732
Goals
12
22
Assists
2
5
Shots
64
89
Shots on target %
43.8%
38.2%
Goals – xG
+2.3
-0.5
Goals inside the area
11
20
Goals outside the area
1
2
Big chances missed
10
23
Shot-creating actions
62
60
Goal-creating actions
7
11
Touches in opposition area
101
149
Touches per 90
24
35
As the table outlines, when it comes to certain metrics in particular, Delap and Aubameyang are very similar.
Both scored more than 90% of their goals inside the box, while the numbers also underline that both are low-touch, high-shot strikers, with neither touching the ball frequently, but both registering more than two shots per game, which is particularly impressive for Delap, considering how poor Ipswich have been this season.
The Englishman actually outperformed Aubameyang when it comes to shots on target %, goals – xG as well as shot-creating actions, while the former Arsenal man actually missed 23 Opta-defined big chances, the most of any player in the division in 2018/19.
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So, in a significantly stronger side, everything suggests Delap could be the lethal finisher that Arsenal desperately require to take them to the next level.
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