After a long summer away, Arsenal finally got their Premier League campaign underway at Old Trafford yesterday afternoon.
It certainly wasn’t a vintage performance from Mikel Arteta’s side, as Manchester United looked more dangerous for much of the game, but in a title challenge, all that matters is the three points.
However, there were still a few worrying aspects to the Gunners’ performance, notably their lack of threat and the underwhelming showing by Viktor Gyokeres on his competitive debut.
It’s safe to say it wasn’t the best of starts for the hulking centre-forward who failed to have a single shot, largely due to a lack of service provided by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Fortunately, Arsenal are now being linked with a dangerman who could be the answer to getting the Swedish international firing.
Arsenal target dream signing for Gyokeres
Since securing the services of Gyokeres for a fee of around £63.5m last month, Arsenal have been linked with a host of stars who could form brilliant partnerships with him.
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Perhaps the most prominent of those links was to Eberechi Eze, but it now looks more and more likely that he’ll be moving to Tottenham Hotspur, and Rodrygo, another supposed target, now looks closer to Manchester City.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom, as it appears that the North Londoners are now moving in on another Premier League star, someone who could get Gyokeres firing.
At least that’s according to recent reports, which have claimed Arsenal are now very interested in Antoine Semenyo.
In fact, the report has revealed that the Gunners have been making inquiries about the Bournemouth star, who is “totally keen” on making the move to the Emirates this summer.
However, he recently signed a one-year extension and was valued at £70m earlier this year, so prising the Ghanaian international from the South Coast could prove challenging.
With that said, if there is a chance Arsenal can sign Semenyo this summer, they have to take it, especially as he could get Gyokeres firing.
Why Semenyo would get Gyokeres firing
It might be somewhat simplistic, but there are two ways we can see Semenyo helping to get more out of Gyokeres this season, and the first relates to his ability to create chances, something that the Swede severely lacked on Sunday.
For example, FBref ranked the Cherries ace in the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last season for shot-creating actions stemming from his take-ons and shots and places him in the top 12% for successful take-on percentage.
In other words, through his brilliant ability to get past opponents, the Ghanian star is a chance-creating machine, and while it resulted in a goal on Friday, we saw that, if anything, he’s now more dangerous with the ball at his feet.
In all, the former Bristol City gem racked up seven assists in 43 appearances across all competitions, but we don’t doubt that number would be significantly higher were he playing alongside the former Sporting CP star.
The second reason Semenyo would be able to get the Gunners’ new number 14 firing this season is the fact that he is such a goal threat himself.
Appearances
42
Starts
39
Minutes
3562′
Goals
13
Assists
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.47
Minutes per Goal Involvement
178.1′
To go along with his seven assists last season, the Cherries’ “monster,” as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 13 goals, and despite playing against the defending champions away from home on Friday night, he’s already scored two this season.
This would massively help the Stockholm-born marksman open his account, as, with the 25-year-old off the left, opposition defenders would be worried about goals coming from every member of the Gunners’ front three.
After all, as useful as Gabriel Martinelli can be when tracking back, he’s not a particularly dangerous winger, nor one that really frightens opponents.
Ultimately, even though it’ll be a tough transfer to get over the line, Arsenal should do all they can to sign Semenyo this summer.
His ability to create chances for his teammates and the fear he’d instil in the opposition could be the key to getting Gyokeres up and running.