Reports are growing suggesting that Arsenal are leading the way in the hunt to land exciting PSV attacker Cody Gakpo. He’s been one of the Eredivisie’s standout stars this season, scoring a remarkable 16 goals while registering a further 15 assists.
His goal contributions plus the dazzling nature of his performances have attracted the interest of many top European sides, although interest cooled at the beginning of the year when the 22-year-old opted to sign a new deal with the Dutch side until 2026. There’s a growing school of thought though that perhaps the deal was signed in order to guarantee a better fee for PSV who could still be open to selling the forward this summer.
The Gunners are of course in the market for at least one new forward as they look to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who departed in January. They’re also going to be tasked with trying to find adequate replacements for both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah who will exit in June when their contracts expire.
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In terms of a profile, Gakpo’s is unique for a wide attacker. He’s tall and stands at six-foot-two-inches. This aids him in terms of his speed and he’s able to take big powerful strides with the ball at his feet. He is also very skilful, averaging over 8.3 dribbles per 90 this season with a success rate of over 50 per cent.
For comparison, Nicolas Pepe has averaged the most dribbles at Arsenal this season, though his per 90 average (6.26) is noticeably lower than Gakpo’s, as his success rate (40 per cent).
Gakpo usually lines up on the left within Roger Schmidt’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, this is interesting to note because Mikel Arteta of course deploys a similar formation at Arsenal. But despite playing predominantly on the left, Gakpo is actually right-footed.
The benefit of this is that he can use his standout pace and skill to drive at defenders before chopping inside and either unleashing ferocious efforts towards the goal or threading through passes to on running teammates in the penalty area. That’s a big reason why he has such a standout return in terms of goals and assists this season.
Although the PSV captain is clearly excelling in his homeland, buying directly from the Eredivisie should always be approached with caution. It hasn’t always been a triumphant tactic for Premier League sides, and much of a transfer’s success has usually depended on the individual.
However in the case of Gakpo, the prospects look favourable. The 22-year-old has a big strong physical profile and looks to have an extremely high ceiling, both of which are key.
But crucially he’s been reared in an environment very similar to the one at Arsenal. Both Arteta and Schmidt share similar footballing philosophies and there are obvious similarities between not only how their teams are set up, but also how they play. This means the transition for Gakpo does have the potential to be pretty seamless, meaning he could well hit the ground running should he make the switch in the summer.
