It's no shock that Arsenal are going to be in the market for a striker this summer. Ever since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club to join Barcelona in January, the Gunners have been shy of a regular goal threat up top and are expected to look externally to solve this problem come the summer.
The open secret has seen Mikel Arteta's men linked to a whole host of big name number nines in recent months. In January it was Dusan Vlahovic who was their main target, but as football.london reported at the time the player's preference was always to stay in Italy and he ended up joining Juventus instead.
Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad and Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin were also linked, while Edu is understood to have held meetings with the agent of Lille forward Jonathan David. However, if recent reports are anything to go by it would appear that the Gunners have now changed their focus to Benfica's Darwin Nunez.
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The Uruguayan striker has been in top form this season scoring an incredible 24 goals in 33 appearances, including strikes against Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Ajax in the Champions League. At just 22 he would appear to fit in to the age profile that Josh Kroenke has stated he wants Edu to pursue in the market and football.london understands the Brazilian is tracking Nunez.
But how exactly would he fit in? With Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Nicolas Pepe up front, along with Alexandre Lacazette if he does end up extending his contract at the Emirates, and a rumoured acquisition of PSV's Cody Gakpo, there's plenty of different ways it could work. Here football.london takes a look at sum of them.
4-3-3
Arsenal have played in many different ways under Mikel Arteta, but their most recent incarnation as a 4-3-3 playing side has undoubtedly been their best look. In this set up they play high up the pitch relying on the sweeping ability of Aaron Ramsdale, and the defensive excellence of the likes of Ben White, Gabriel and Takehiro Tomiyasu to cover.
Midfield consists of Thomas Partey - who has played some of the best football of his career recently - as a number six, while Granit Xhaka is the slightly more conservative left eight, with Martin Odegaard having license to get forward plenty on the right side of midfield.
This leaves just three starting spots up for grabs up top. It would seem that Bukayo Saka is nailed on in the right wing position, where he is establishing himself not just as one of the best young players in the Premier League, but one of the best players full stop.
Up front in this situation Nunez would appear to be the man to spearhead things. He has a pace and directness to his game that allows him to keep up with the rest of Arsenal's exciting young attacking line in transition, which is something Lacazette has been found to be lacking in recent weeks.
However, the Uruguayan does have more of a tendency to drift to the left which would vacate the central focal point that Lacazette provides. Should the Frenchman stay then Nunez could certainly play from the left in a role similar to what Martinelli has been doing recent weeks, and do so with great effect.
Alternatively if Gakpo does arrive from PSV as rumours have indicated could happen, then the Dutchman could even end up playing number nine. The 22-year-old is arguably being groomed for this position in the long run and has the strength to play up against Premier League defenders, with Nunez potentially coming in from left.
False nine
Alternatively we could see Arteta ditch the concept of a striker all together. Much of the talk surrounding Arsenal's number nine search this summer has been focused on trying to sign a player who is physically capable of providing the link up play that Lacazette brings, while also getting forward to be in the box and get on the end of cutbacks.
It is this that seems to explain the January links to Dusan Vlahovic and the consistent rumours surrounding Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Both are physical specimens and have the aerial prowess to potentially take advantage of the excellent delivery that Kieran Tierney brings to the table. But what if this isn't what Arteta wants at all?
The Spaniard spent his immediate post-playing career at Manchester City learning from Pep Guardiola as his assistant. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has regularly been criticised for not playing with an orthodox, number nine amid strong links to Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, but it appears he is perfectly happy without a traditional striker.
Arteta has already hinted that this is something he'd be willing to do when it comes to Emile Smith Rowe. “I think he can play in four positions," the Spaniard said of his joint top scorer this season. “As a left winger, a left attacking midfielder, a right attacking midfielder and he can play as a nine, very, very well.”
If that's the route that Arsenal do choose to go down then it's easy to see how they adapt in the post-Lacazette era, should the Frenchman end up leaving when his contract expires this summer. Both Gakpo and Nunez are mobile enough to play across a fluid front line that would make the Gunners horribly unpredictable to defend against. Arteta has previously stated that he is less interested in formations and more focused on the spaces players occupy on the pitch. With this in mind it's easy to see how their front line could look next season with another round of smart summer acquisitions.
