Arsenal: 5 striker transfer targets after Dusan Vlahovic blow

5. Amine Gouiri – Nice

Age: 21
Contract expiry: 2024
Rumoured fee: N/A

Some players go under the radar when everything they’re doing is screaming for attention. Amine Gouiri being one of them.

Another player in the annoyingly endless production line of French talent, Gouiri has clocked up ten goals and seven assists in 22 Ligue 1 outings this season, following on from 12 and seven respectively in a very poor Nice side last term.

This season he’s thrived in Christophe Galtier’s 4-4-2 system, where the 21-year-old lines up on the left of the front two and is given license to drift wide and cut in on his favoured right foot. Mobile and flexible tactically, he’s turning into the complete package with superb connective play and work off the ball. There is a rawness to his style, but it’s one that he harnesses into this enticing box of trickery

With 4.37 SCA p/90 (96th percentile) he is always seeking to fashion openings for himself or others, with his progressive carries and numbers all in the upper 90’s. A lot of this does come from him often drifting into wide areas, though. Physically there are question marks over whether he could flourish as a lone No. 9 in the Premier League, while he isn’t a ferocious presser off the ball either.

But when focusing on his quality it’s easy to forget about that. Eye-catching technical ability dazzles around the pitch, even if his finishing could use with some work. That latter point may odd considering his numbers, but it doesn’t quite look as refined or ruthless just yet.

He’s young though, positionally flexible, creative, has a high calibre of technical quality and is finding joy in front of goal. There is much more to come, too, from someone who pops on the screen every time he’s on the pitch.