Forget Isak and Gyökeres – Five smarter striker options for Arsenal to sign this summer

More firepower needed 

©TM/IMAGO

A number of factors played a part in Arsenal’s elimination from the Champions League on Wednesday night. Whether it be the exquisite saves of Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, a fabulous shot from Fabian Ruiz or Luis Enrique’s clever tactics, Arsenal will have a number of things to ponder over when they’re ready to do a complete post-mortem on their European campaign. But few could doubt that the biggest issue Arsenal faced over the course of the semi-final tie was the lack of a traditional striker up front. 

While Mikel Arteta’s side did manage seven shots on target over the course of the 180 minutes of football against their French opponents, most of them were speculative shots from the edge of the box from the likes of Bukayo Saka. And with defensive midfielder Mikel Merino as the only presence in the box, it was clear from the start that Arsenal lacked the clinical presence of a top-class No.9. As such, the club are widely expected to spend the vast majority of their transfer budget on a striker in the summer transfer window. And while the North London side have been linked with a number of high-profile strikers, such as Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres or Victor Osimhen, there may be some less obvious but just as impressive candidates on the market for Arsenal to consider in the coming months. 

Conrad Harder – Sporting

For example, while the club have been heavily linked with a move for Gyökeres, it seems more than likely that Sporting would demand a transfer fee that approaches the €100 million mark for the 26-year-old striker. Instead, Arsenal may be better suited taking a look at Gyökeres’ strike partner Conrad Harder. Six years Gyökeres’ junior, Harder’s market value stands at just €24m and would likely cost considerably less than his Scandinavian counterpart. Quick, strong and with a ferocious shot on him, Harder has taken to Portuguese football like a duck to water, bagging 10 goals and six assists in 44 appearances for the club. That, interestingly enough, works out at a remarkable 0.97 goals and assists per 90 for Sporting in his first season for the club and while it’s not quite as impressive as Gyökeres (1.46 per 90), it’s still a figure that should get Arsenal’s fans very exciting about this young forward’s potential. 

Evann Guessand – Nice

Another relatively unknown forward that Arsenal could perhaps pounce on this summer is Nice forward Evann Guessand. With a market value of €25m, the 23-year-old talent is also a far cry from the eye-watering sums required to sign players like Osimhen and Isak, but could prove to become an exceptional goalscorer. After impressive loan spells at Lausanne-Sport and Nantes, Guessand returned to Nice this season and has quickly established himself as a key player, bagging 12 goals and nine assists in all competitions with an impressive return of 0.64 goals and assists per 90 minutes. Guessand represented France at every youth level – before declaring his senior international career to Ivory Coast last year – and when coupled with his rise at Nice the young player has already garnered attention from a number of other Premier League clubs, such as West Ham, Aston Villa and Newcastle. Standing tall at 1.88m (6 ft 2 in), Guessand could be the target man Arterta’s side have been crying out for for much of this season. 

Santiago Castro – Bologna

Next on our list is another young striker that is making waves in his first serious season in Europe’s top five leagues. At just 20 years of age, Santiago Castro is by no means an experienced goalscorer in European football, but after joining Bologna for €12m in January of 2024 the young Argentine forward has gone from strength to strength in Italian football. Largely filling in for the void left by Joshua Zirkzee’s departure to Manchester United last summer, Castro has bagged 11 goals and nine assists in 50 appearances for the Serie A side, averaging 0.63 goals and assists per 90 in all competitions for the club. The young talent’s low centre of gravity and impressive build up play has drawn clear comparisons to Inter forward Lautaro Martínez, who Castro has cited as a major influence on his game. Such are the similarities that Castro has been nicknamed “Mini Lautaro” in Italy. Arsenal may do well to swoop in for the young talent before his market value matches his compatriots at Inter. 

Gonçalo Ramos – Paris Saint-Germain

While Arsenal fans may be sick of the sight of PSG players, the club would do well to consider a move for one the French team’s most underappreciated forwards. Despite finally joining the Parisian side on a permanent deal last summer for €65m, Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos has spent much of this season at PSG sitting on the bench. To date, Ramos has started around a third of the club’s games in Ligue 1 and just 6% of their games in the Champions League. As such, the 23-year-old talent may be considering his options ahead of the summer window, which is where Arsenal could likely sign the young talent for far less than PSG originally paid for him. And while he may be playing second fiddle in Enrique’s team right now, Ramos’ return of 0.98 goals and assists per 90 for the French giants is still incredibly impressive. In many ways, Ramos is exactly what Arteta’s team are missing and he could be available for a decent fee this summer. 

Jonathan Burkardt – Mainz

The final centre forward on today’s list is Mainz goalscorer Jonathan Burkardt. Although the German international turns 25 in the summer, Burkardt’s career was somewhat put on hiatus in 2022 when a serious knee injury ruled him out for much of the 2022/23 season. The forward only began to look back to his best towards the end of last season but following a full pre-season last summer, he’s kicked on for Mainz and finally realised his potential as an excellent Bundesliga talisman. To date, Burkardt has bagged 17 goals and three assists in 28 games for the German club, averaging 0.87 goals and assists per 90. In fact, the striker has scored exactly as many league goals as Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane from open play this season. And if Arsenal are looking for a competent forward without the kind of market value that the aforementioned England striker demands, Burkardt may be the perfect option for them.