Arsenal’s 6 striker transfer targets this summer – ranked

5. Jonathan David – Lille

There is a lot of excitement around Jonathan David, and from a profile perspective it’s plain to see why Arsenal are keeping tabs on the Canadian, and have been for a while.

He shares many traits with Lacazette. Someone who likes to hover around the edges of the penalty box where he plays off a taller striker in Burak Yilmaz, recently they’ve been swapping the centre-forward duties in a 4-2-3-1 shape, where his productivity has decreased.

David is an excellent option to have in transition and on counter-attacks, where his clever movement and speed comes to the fore and he makes sharp and spontaneous runs that demonstrate his mature reading of the game.

Attacking spaces as he does, this diversity of movement sees him pop up in various zones around the box where he can fire shots off with either foot: he is exceptionally two-footed.

It’s important that Arsenal have someone with predatory instincts around the 18-yard box, as his quick thinking in broken play both in pressing the ball and pouncing on opportunities is part of his strong form this season. But that form has dropped, his goals have dried up, and there are still question marks over his one-on-one ability and technical quality with the ball at feet.

The main concern with David is that he isn’t at the elite level. A strong and powerful runner, while he’s still young, he doesn’t pop off the screen as much as you’d like and if Arsenal are to elevate their side they might need someone with neater control and decisiveness in the final third.

An intriguing option nonetheless, it’s just that Arsenal might want to fish in a bigger pond, even if their extensive tracking of him is cause for optimism.

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