Arsenal's problem throughout the 2020/21 campaign was clear: an inability to consistently create chances.
Mikel Arteta opted to leave veteran playmaker Mesut Ozil out of his squad for the season, leaving Hale End academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe to shoulder the majority of the creative burden.
Still, the youngster was inexperienced and needed help in fashioning chances for his teammates, with technical director Edu admitting that change was needed.
Speaking in a fans' forum back in December 2020, the Brazilian said: "It’s quite clear what we need. We need a player with creativity in the middle, we don’t have that in the squad right now.”
A few weeks later Norway captain Martin Odegaard was brought on loan before joining permanently in the summer, signing for a reported £30million - an absolute steal given his rare blend of elite ball retention, line-breaking passing and intelligent movement.
In fact, the Gunners star ranks seventh in the Premier League for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes this season, with teammate Bukayo Saka the other player in north London to make the top ten, sitting either side of Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah in the rankings, as per Fbref.
Odegaard has registered a whopping 4.38 per game whilst Salah and Saka have managed 4.30 and 4.22 respectively.
Despite their newfound creative prowess, Arteta's side have netted just 34 league goals so far this term, illustrating just how badly a clinical frontman is needed to help improve their efforts in the final third.
Young striker Eddie Nketiah is yet to find the back of the net in the English top-flight this season despite coming off the bench five times this term whilst French frontman Alexandre Lacazette has netted just three times in the league from 17 appearances.
Real Sociedad's Alexander Isak, Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan and Lille star Jonathan David have all been mooted as potential targets for the Gunners, who may need to bring in more than one centre-forward when you consider that both Nketiah and Lacazette are into the final five months of their respective deals with the club.
