Real Madrid legend Fernando Morientes has named two strikers Arsenal should look at signing this summer – one of whom failed to score during his previous spell in the Premier League.
It has long been known that Arsenal need to buy a top goalscorer, a matter that has become more pressing after yet another trophy-less campaign.
Despite missing four months through injury, Kai Havertz is the club’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with just nine goals and they can no longer rely on Gabriel Jesus thanks to his fitness issues.
Plenty of names have been linked with the Emirates including Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, while reports suggest their striker search is down to two names: RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres.
Williams is highly-rated and available for €58million (£48.7m) this summer, but Morientes believes there are other Spain-based forwards Mikel Arteta could target.
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‘If Arsenal want a striker from La Liga, a Spaniard who comes to mind right now is Ayoze Perez,’ the former Liverpool striker told Online Casinos.
‘He left Real Betis for just four or five million euros, and he’s become desirable for the big teams because he’s scored a lot of goals and is playing very well.
‘Another name is Alexander Sorloth. At the start of the season I thought he was going to be one of the most important strikers in our league and I wasn’t wrong, even though he hasn’t played as much as he should have.
‘These types of players may already be expensive, but teams that have money can afford to invest in established players. Emerging players are cheaper, but you need players that can instantly perform in the Premier League.’
Both Villarreal’s Perez and Atletico Madrid’s Sorloth have indeed been in excellent form this season, scoring 36 goals between them in La Liga.
Both also have Premier League experience but neither set England’s top-flight alight, with Sorloth failing to find the back of the net during his year with Crystal Palace.
The Norway international joined the Eagles for £9m in January 2018 but failed to impress Roy Hodgson, making just 16 Premier League appearances before being binned off.
The 29-year-old has looked a completely different player since moving to Spain however, scoring 63 goals in the last three seasons for Real Sociedad, Villarreal and Atletico.
As Morientes says, Sorloth has not started as many games for Diego Simeone’s side as expected but having only joined the club last summer, it seems unlikely he’ll leave.
Perez meanwhile spent eight-and-a-half years in England with Newcastle United and Leicester City, yet hit double figures in the league just once.
The Spaniard turns 32 in the summer so it would seem unlikely that Arsenal would look at him, but this has been the best season of his career by far, with 22 goals in 32 games.
For now, Arsenal have one final game before the season ends and the transfer window re-opens, with Arteta’s team travelling to bottom of the table Southampton on Sunday.
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