“He told me his heart belongs to Arsenal”: Club manager confirms his player will be join Arsenal this summer
Arsenal are expected to sign a new striker this summer.
The Gunners have been in need of a top-class centre-forward for a few years now. Gabriel Jesus failed to live up to the hype after his flying start, while even though Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino have done a very good job, neither is a natural goalscorer.
Andrea Berta has been scouting several strikers for Arsenal since he was appointed as the club’s new sporting director, and there is confidence that a new number nine will arrive at the Emirates this summer.
A number of forwards have been linked with a move to Arsenal. Here’s the latest on one of them.
Arsenal target Hugo Ekitike expected to leave Eintracht Frankfurt
Hugo Ekitike has had a brilliant season at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Frenchman spent a six-month loan spell at the German club in the second half of last season, and Frankfurt then signed him permanently in the summer.
Ekitike has scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists so far this season, and his performances have caught the eye of a number of top clubs.
TBR Football revealed in March that Arsenal had made contact with Frankfurt for Ekitike and asked to be kept informed of his situation.
Liverpool, Newcastle United and Aston Villa all made the same request at the time as well.
Now, Christian Falk has told CaughtOffside that the decision-makers at Eintracht Frankfurt already assume that their star striker will be leaving this summer.
The journalist said: “It is true! Arsenal and Liverpool want Hugo Ekitike, the striker of Eintracht Frankfurt. And the bosses of Frankfurt assume that the striker will leave at the end of the season, like Omar Marmoush did to Manchester City.
“But, they want again a high price for the striker. €100 million [£85.2m] is the price tag.
“They are nearly qualified for the Champions League next season, so they will have a lot of money from that. They have a little hope that they can hold him, if somebody doesn’t pay the price.
“So, it’s getting very interesting. €100 million is a lot of money.”
How Hugo Ekitike’s stats compare to Arsenal’s other striker targets
Arsenal have been very close to winning the Premier League title in each of the last three seasons, but for one reason or another, they haven’t been able to get over the line.
Many fans and pundits feel that the lack of a prolific goalscorer is why Mikel Arteta’s men have fallen short, and they could be right.
That could be why Arsenal have been linked with multiple strikers, but how do Ekitike’s numbers fare against them?
Only Benjamin Sesko has scored fewer goals than Ekitike among Arsenal’s top striker targets for the summer, but it’s important to note that they are the two youngest on the list.
Viktor Gyokeres‘ numbers for Sporting are out of this world, while Alexander Isak is everyone’s favourite pick because he has done it in the Premier League.
Ekitike would not be a bad option at all for Arsenal, but if the Gunners want someone to come in, hit the ground running and score 30 goals, Isak and Gyokeres are probably the better options.
