Arsenal turn attention to Cody Gakpo amid latest striker blow | OneFootball

Arsenal are now lining up a move for Cody Gakpo as they look to end their search for a new forward…

What’s the word?

According to French outlet Foot Mercato, the Gunners have joined the race to sign him in the final few days of the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old winger is valued at around €30m (£25m) and is also being targeted by Premier League rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, though he remains under contract at PSV Eindhoven until summer 2025.

Arsenal are said to view him as an ideal candidate to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is facing an uncertain future in north London.

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Shades of Henry

Indeed, there is plenty for manager Mikel Arteta and the club’s recruitment team to resolve in 2022 but no issue is more pressing than the striker role.

Aubameyang has not featured for the Gunners since early December after he was stripped of the captaincy following ‘another’ disciplinary breach. He has since had interest from the Middle East but it’s unclear if he will depart before Monday, if at all.

Then there are the contractual situations of Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, who both seem destined to leave for nothing in the summer, meaning the Spanish head coach will be light on first-team forward options.

Enter Gakpo, who can play out wide and through the middle – should Arteta see him as a striker, then there are surely shades of Thierry Henry about him, especially at 6 foot 2 inches in height.

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The Gunners legend arrived at the club as a winger but was converted into one of Europe’s very best and most lethal marksmen through the middle by Arsene Wenger.

Former FC Twente midfielder Theo Janssen believes the Dutch talent “has everything” as he revealed during an interview with NOS. “Fine feeling for the ball, a good through ball, dribbles and is strong between the lines,” he added.

The £19.8m-rated dynamo has delivered a whopping ten goals and 11 assists across all competitions this campaign, whilst playing on both flanks and up top, as per Transfermarkt.

He is also averaging 3.2 shots, 2.8 key passes and 2.6 dribbles per game (via WhoScored) in the Eredivisie so far this season, and that’ll earn further comparisons to that of Henry, who was a constant threat on the ball and a very hard man to dispossess.

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WHO IS THE PLAYER?

Mikel Arteta Giovanni van Bronckhorst

Gakpo is said to have “quick feet“, which is somewhat rare for a towering figure, whilst football scout Jacek Kulig also deems him to be “special” and “phenomenal.”

Also earning comparisons to Heung-min Son, it only bolsters his potential of becoming an elite centre-forward in the Premier League and after missing out on the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Alexander Isak, Gakpo isn’t a bad alternative at all.

Edu Gaspar and co must look to seal Gakpo before Monday night, Arteta badly needs him and on the above evidence, there are exciting shades of Henry about him.