Arsenal: Odsonne Edouard the best of a bad situation

Arsenal are looking at double-dipping at Celtic, this time bringing in striker Odsonne Edouard. It’s not ideal, but it’s perfect for the situation at hand.

It’s very possible that Arsenal will be losing both of their starting strikers before next season. Both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are unlikely to stay if Champions League can’t be secured, and as everything is currently in limbo, we have to prepare for the worst. Which makes Odsonne Edouard the best of a bad situation.

Money is a big deal here. Arsenal will likely be looking to make most of their investment into their midfield and defense. They don’t want to have to worry about the attack, but it’s the attack that will likely face the highest turnover.

As it stands, Nicolas Pepe and youth will take the club forward—Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe. That’s a lot of uncertainty because of age and experience alone.

So let’s talk about Odsonne Edouard. Certainly not at the tip of most people’s tongues when asked who should replace our dynamic striking duo.

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But with Eddie Nketiah already making a claim for one of the roles, it’s important to think about who would take the other role. It’s also not practical to expect a big name investment, especially since, if Aubameyang left, it’s because we didn’t secure the Champions League. So attracting someone else of his caliber will be difficult.

It’s more likely we can get someone like Odsonne Edouard. But the thing about him is we need to snap him up now or we’ll end up regretting it later because he has blown up every single year since joining Celtic.

His first year he managed just six goals and two assists. The next year was 14 and six and this year he’s at a massive 21 goals and 12 assists. In tandem with that, his value has gone up and up and up, though it’s currently hovering underneath £20m, which given what he is on his way to becoming, is a steal.

I know, an Nketiah-Edouard striking core doesn’t have the same ring as Aubameyang and Lacazette, but as we learned from Martinelli and Saka this year, sometimes youth is more ready than you think, you just have to give them a chance.

Seeing Edouard play, you can see how it would translate to the Premier League, so if anyone has any argument against him, unleash it now.