Arsenal: Said Benrahma the wrong Brentford transfer target

Arsenal’s summer transfer rumors are rolling in, and that means it’s time to correct all the things they’re doing wrong in their window shopping.

Arsenal are starting to line up their summer transfer targets, which is always an exciting time, because we can start to fantasize about all the guys we may see in the red and white come just a few months into the future.

But it’s also a brain bending time when we get linked to guys like Said Benrahma. I already went into detail talking about why this was neither the time nor the place to look at someone like Benrahma, no matter how good he is. But now I want to talk about why we got the team right, but the player wrong.

Also lining up at Brentford is Championship leading scorer Ollie Watkins.

The same age, and the same goal contributions, the big difference here is that Ollie Watkins had scored 19 goals and plays as a striker, not a left winger.

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If rumors are to be believed, Mikel Arteta has his axe ready to lop off the entirety of this attacks superstardom. Apparently, in one conclusive blow from that axe, he’s ready to lose Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil. That’s a whole lot of striker and a whole naught of winger.

Assuming we lose those three guys, the Gunners will have a brand new need up top. Eddie Nketiah is an excellent compliment, and I don’t think we need to break the bank on an elite striker like Aubameyang, but we do need someone who has a proven goal scoring acumen. Or at least the potential for it. That’s why I was sold on Luka Jovic, but that rumors has since faded.

Thus, Ollie Watkins. The striker has been more strongly linked to both Chelsea and Liverpool, but in terms of sense and sensibility, he should be more interested in finding a home at the Emirates, where he will have a far better chance at breaking in as a striker than at Chelsea, who have Tammy Abraham, or Liverpool, who currently don’t have a single need.

Watkins has proven himself to be on a higher level during his time at Brentford, and it’s not even like his is the first time he’s stood out. He now has 39 goals and 13 assists in three years in the Championship. That’s conclusive. Big time.

Said Benrahma is fun, and maybe a year ago it would be delicious. But it’s Ollie Watkins time now.