Manchester United are planning a shock move for Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic, with Erik ten Hag's side having tabled a bid for the striker.
United haven't had a great start to their 2022/23 campaign, losing 2-1 to Brighton at Old Trafford in their first Premier League game of the season. With Anthony Martial injured, speculation around the future of Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford misfiring, Arnautovic is understood to be a short-term solution.
After spending six years in England with Stoke City and West Ham United, Arnautovic left for China before moving to Bologna in Italy last season. The Austrian striker scored 14 Serie A goals in 33 games, and now United have bid €8 million for the 32-year-old.
READ MORE: Ten Hag defends key selection vs Brighton
So, if Arnautovic was to make the move to Old Trafford, could he improve Ten Hag's attack? Could he become a regular up-front, or will he just be used as a temporary placeholder?
We 'signed' Marko Arnautoivc for Man United
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Arnautovic to join United at the start of the Premier League season, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated the game with the latest Premier League results and transfers.
Arnautovic started games on his arrival, but he was quickly dropped to the bench when Ronaldo made his way to full fitness, making most of his appearances as a sub. In all competitions, the Austrian only started eight games for United, whilst coming on as a sub for a further 19.
In those games, the 32-year-old scored eight times whilst grabbing one assist, with half of his goals coming in the Premier League. The striker scored twice on his debut, but he failed to reach that level again.
When compared to other strikers at United, Arnautovic ended up being the third-choice striker in the squad, with Ronaldo and Anthony Martial playing more regularly ahead of him. Martial scored 18 goals while Ronaldo grabbed 16, with the latter averaging the highest rating. Of all United's forwards, only Anthony Elanga made fewer appearances than Arnautovic.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Fred, Eriksen; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Arnautovic didn't make the best XI, with the Austrian struggling to make the starting XI ahead of Ronaldo. New signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen made the best XI, but Tyrell Malacia just missed out to Luke Shaw.
Man United's results with Arnautovic
United were in a top four battle all season in the Premier League, but in the end, they fell just short, missing out on Champions League qualification only on goal difference. Both United and Arsenal ended the season on 67 points, but the Gunners' +24 goal difference was one better than United's +23.
Arsenal, who signed Gabriel Jesus in the summer, scored five more goals than United, which proved to be the decisive factor behind the Reds' poor league finish. There was then a 19-point gap between fourth and third, with big spending Chelsea emerging victorious in a three-horse title race.
It wasn't United's year in the cups either, with a quarter-final the furthest round Ten Hag's side could reach. That was in the FA Cup, where 10-man United were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea.
They also reached the quarter-final in the Europa League, but after losing 1-0 in the first leg, a 2-2 draw with Inter Milan in the second saw them eliminated. United were also beaten in the Carabao Cup by Chelsea, this time losing 2-0 to the Blues in the third round.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that the addition of Arnautovic to the United squad could potentially prove a poor signing, with the 32-year-old failing to make a major impact and dropping to the bench in our simulation. This simulation suggests it may be a mistake for United to go for Arnautovic this summer, with better and more long-term options available.
Would you like to see Marko Arnoutovic sign for Man United? Let us know in the comments!
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