Summer 2025 Transfer Window: Page 26 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Summer 2025 Transfer Window

Panda

I don't really think we are in a position to be picky...there are risks with any player we sign.

Was actually impressed with Gyokeres against us. I like how direct he is too. We need that. If he has a sight on goal you can be sure he's pulling the trigger not like our other 9's who will pass it off or take too many touches.

Quick google seems to suggest he has been consistently outperforming his xg too which is always a good sign for a striker.

GooneriC

I'd be OK with Gyokeres if we also got Williams

TambourineMan

Havertz is a bit of a fail safe for us so we should be going with someone younger and with a higher ceiling - Eketike, Delap, Sesko etc. Of course if we can get a sure thing (Isak) then that should be the priority but we should be avoiding guys like Gyokeres who pretty much are what they are at this point.

But we need a top LW if we're going with a younger guy up front. Which is why I feel like Marmoush and Kvara (especially in the summer when his stock was lower) were big misses - of course they might still have chosen PSG and City but if we want to compete for the big trophies we also need to compete for the big players.

Burnwinter

CPM I don't think Havertz is being replaced.

Agree. The problem we have with Havertz is that any signing at 9 that isn't both good and in form will likely end up getting rotated due to the benefits of Havertz's all-round game and athleticism.

That's not necessarily a disaster, but we can't expect a huge delta from a player who's coming off the bench. I want a signing who could either complement or ultimately displace Havertz and allow him to be moved on.

banduan

Either Sesko or Ekitike for me. Thing is I doubt Frankfurt would wanna let go so soon after Marmoush left.

USArsenal

RocktheCasbah

Yeah, i'll be honest, i never felt my age until the past year or so. I don't know if its catching up to me, or just the stress of work, but only really in the past 6 months have i started to feel like i am 50. Though i still have my moments. 😃

JazzG

CPM I don't think Havertz is being replaced. I actually think it's unlikely our striker signing plays more minutes than Havertz next season. At least in the short term, Havertz will be a better player overall than whoever we sign (barring an Isak longshot). And I also wonder whether we might benefit from more 4-4-2 if we had a proper box finisher in the squad.

Once we have a better LF and hopefully Odegaard at some point will pull his finger out I think Havertz becomes a 30+ goal scorer for us imo. That is why we either need to someone better than Havertz, like Isak, or we signed the hottest prospect we can.

Gyokeres has 42 goals this season which is bloody impressive but 17 of them are penalties, he is not imo a game changing player for us and am guessing he'd cost £60m+ which is a significant outlay for a player. Especially considering he is 27 so isn't going to get much better.

Claudius

JazzG so he has 25 non-penalty goals?

JazzG

Claudius I've spent all morning doing maths questions with my kids, don't you start as well now 😉

Gurgen

Claudius Is that bad? We have two months left and it's not a given that you bang all your penalties either.

banduan

The thing to worry about Gyokeres is not if he can get better. It's if he can stay good for at least the next 5 years, in a different league.

Qwiss

JazzG He’d probably do well for us, he’d get a fuck load of chances but if we are gonna splash out on a striker to replace Havertz he needs to be special.

We need a striker, we can't keep waiting around for this "special" guy. At some stage you just need to take the plunge and get the best available to you.

And our centre backs can keep anyone quiet. Would you turn your nose up at Haaland? Yet they pocketed him this season with ease.

JazzG

Qwiss That is how we end up like Man Utd, just buying players for the sake of it. If we don't find the right player we should not be coughing up £60m for someone who isn't right. This summer players like Sesko and Ekitike will be available, while they don't have his numbers they look like they'll come for similar money and have a far bigger upside.

Haaland has got the better of them a few times in the past but he is also proven beyond doubt. Havertz in the past 12 or so months while he has played as our striker has like 25+ goals, we need a clear upgrade or a great talent. If we can't find either then buy someone cheaper to make do for now.

Don Pacifico

Qwiss similar to what Jazz said, I don't think anyone is advocating not buying anyone. But I'd be surprised if we couldn't find a better solution than Gyokeres - the opportunity cost on him is high.

Whoever we bring in, needs to be creating opportunities for themselves as our weakness is when the system breaks down. I'm yet to be convinced Gyokeres could do that in the PL.

Asterix

Gurgen it's all theoretical - we don't get penalties any more.

Qwiss

JazzG If Sesko doesn't come here its because he didn't want to, simple as that. We can't spend forever chasing him. They'll go in again but they need alternatives. Sometimes you approach players and they don't move.

Havertz has done well but he's not a starting striker for a title winning team. We need a real striker. There are half a dozen who fit the bill and Gyokeres is certainly in that group.

MistaT

JazzG -- does Sesko actually have more upside?

Seems the last year has highlighted what he's great at, and that he's also limited. He strikes me as being firmly in a narrow development band like Gyokeres. If they come and score they will be useful, but there's not much more they're adding to their games.

Ekitike is the one with upside. As @samthegooner has been highlighting, he seems akin to Isak before he took off.

JazzG

Should add we signed players like Lacazette in the past, this was a guy putting up numbers as good as anyone in the French league and completely flopped for us. Then went back to France and almost scored as many goals as Mbappe. Some players are just suited for lower quality leagues, big fish in small pond etc.

samthegooner

I'd be okay with Gyokeres for the right fee this summer but I do think we should be looking at Sesko and Ekitike as first options behind Isak. Like @CPM said, I don't think any of Gyokeres/Sesko/Ekitike is immediately displacing Havertz and they might not displace him at all over the next 1-2 seasons. Isak would be the difference there of course but I'm not holding my breath.

My squad building bias would be to take the younger player with a higher ceiling as a bench/rotation option at striker and Sesko and Ekitike clearly have that advantage over Gyokeres. Gyokeres does have the production that both of them don't have as much of but I'm dubious of the Portuguese league. He has shown glimpses of this in the Champs League (hat trick against City and looking dangerous against us) but I don't think its a done deal that he would be able to replicate that form in the EPL.

That being said, if we came out of this summer with a combination of Gyokeres/Williams/Zubimendi/Nypan, I do think we are a better team next year. I would just prefer to take a chance on the younger prospect rather than the striker coming from a lesser league with production.

JazzG

Qwiss My point is more we should pursue other options first, if we can't get any of them then we should look at players like him. _£60m isn't cheap though.

MistaT He is 21 years old, electric pace and good power. There are however risks with him as well, other parts of his game look a bit raw and need improvement. He is however 4/5 years off his peak so there is a potential upside there. I do agree Ekitike is a very interesting player. Isak along with Sesko and Ekitike should be top of our list

Qwiss

Don Pacifico I don't think there is a long list of better candidates. There are a few but if they aren't gettable I'd rather get Gyokeres than wait another year and hope they sort it in the summer of 2026. We've been playing midfielders there all season and they've scored, imagine what an actual striker could do?

Don Pacifico

Qwiss

I'm being facetious but we're likely to be spending £60/70m+ so probably won't buy another striker for a few years. Given that, I think it's worth trying to think clearly about (a) who is best placed to fill gaps in our team and (b) who has potential re-sale value.

Claudius

Qwiss gyokeres plus Nico is a big upgrade on what is happening right now. I also worry about waiting for unicorns

samthegooner

@MistaT I am starting to get dubious of Sesko as well. His ball striking and movement are great but I really worry about his personality - he doesn't seem to really have that alpha side of him that a lot of great strikers have. I was hoping to see some big development this year with him staying at Leipzig but he seems to have just continued what he was doing last year - scoring a decent amount of goals but not really taking on additional responsibility in terms of leading the attack. He also just strikes me as one of those tall, stiff strikers even though he shows some impressive technique and foot skills. Ekitike and Isak seem to be much more agile and smooth and Gyokeres seems to be somewhere in the middle of the 4 of them.

I also am concerned with the lack of shot volume that Sesko has. Dominant 9's need to be selfish to some extent and Sesko's shot numbers are very similar to Havertz's, which is a little alarming due to how Havertz plays. I'd want someone who shoots a lot more than Havertz as our rotation at the 9.

MistaT

samthegooner -- yeah, he's got some Podolski and Scamacca vibes to him.

Not really seeing a whole lot besides a wicked shot, and some good drive for counter attacking.

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