Arsenal: 3 transfer targets to pip out from under Tottenham

2. Arkadiusz Milik

Ever since Arsenal sold Olivier Giroud, we have no had a target man striker. Not having a target man striker has meant that as we pass the ball around in a token semi-circle, there has been an over-reliance on off the ball movement, as well as a need for key passing and sharp runs, as well as width. That’s a lot.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

You can’t just loft the ball into the box anymore and let the target man sort things out from there. And while the Gunners became a bit too dependent on that at times as well, if they were able to split the difference and have both strategies available to them, we might see this attack finally take flight.

But first, they have to get an actual Giroud-esque striker, and they can’t do much better than Tottenham (and Juve, and Schalke, and Milan) target Arkadiusz Milik. Milik is a target man with movement to boot, and he’s made one hell of a name for himself at Napoli. With rumors that he’s going to move, it’s surprising that the Gunners have not been more strongly linked, despite links to Luka Jovic, who plays the same way.

Milik can replace Alexandre Lacazette easily. He won’t come cheap, but it’ll be well worth it.

Finally, what should be an obvious No. 1.