Arsenal: 3 reasons Alexander Isak is perfect for Gunners

3. Alexander Isak is Not Perfect but Arsenal Can Work With That

He may be listed as the ‘perfect’ centre-forward for Arsenal, but that word is hyperbolic. There are only a handful of players ever to grace the game who come close to that description.

As fine a player as Isak is and with as much potential as he has, there are still many rough edges to him. Despite standing at well over six foot tall, his success rate in aerial duels leaves plenty to be desired.

That tall frame is still far from being a strong one, as his 38.7% of aerials won has him in the lowly 50th percentile. He doesn’t rank highly for ball recoveries, tackles and interceptions (28th percentile) either, albeit those numbers different depending on a particular striker’s job role. Aubameyang, for comparison, is in the 3rd percentile for tackles and interceptions.

Isak does need to hit the gym. Being as tall as he is at such a young age he will naturally bulk up, but if he were to come up against Premier League centre-backs in his current physique his numbers for duels won would drop even further.

This, on top of the need to sometimes slow his though processes down, work on his passing range and not be afraid to set himself before shooting are all areas for development. Weaknesses in some eyes, but development opportunity elsewhere. In the right environment, like Sociedad has been for him, all of the above can be moulded to suit the team he plays for. That’s exciting.

Of course, the elephant in the room is his £60m release clause. There is always hope for some wiggle room to settle for less, but Sociedad know the value of their asset. Despite the European Championships coming up there is no well documented interest in Isak other than Arsenal monitoring him, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him remain with Real.

Is £60m a lot? It is and it isn’t. With strikers of wide-ranging skillsets either extortionately expensive (Haaland) or hard to come across, any such investment would be made with years ahead to extract full value. As it is, wherever Isak goes he will be worth it.

Or, Balogun can continue his exciting trajectory and the chequebook can remain closed. That would also be nice, but for now none fit the mould quite like the Swede.