In recent years, Arsenal have seemingly taken Liverpool’s place as the Premier League’s nearly team as they finished just behind Manchester City for the second season running this year.
However, while the end result was the same, Mikel Arteta’s men did improve in 2023/24, and it now feels more like when, rather than if, the North Londoners finally get their hands on the title.
In fact, that could happen next season, as one of the latest players touted for a move to the Emirates could be the perfect Kai Havertz upgrade – he even scored more league goals than Erling Haaland.
Arsenal’s striker search
According to a report from German publication BILD late last week, Arsenal are among several clubs interested in signing VfB Stuttgart’s star striker, Serhou Guirassy, this summer.
Alongside the Gunners, the report named Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan as the other sides keen on securing the 28-year-old’s services.
Interestingly, he would be available for a fee in the region of €18m to €20m, which is just £15m to £17m.
Dortmund, Chelsea, and Milan may make this transfer complicated to get over the line, but for the bargain price Guirassy is said to be available for, this looks like a deal too good to be missed for Edu Gaspar and Co.
How Guirassy compares to Havertz and Haaland
Before looking at how Guirassy compares to Havertz, let’s compare his league record to Erling Haaland’s this year – it might surprise you. In just 28 Bundesliga games last season, the Stuttgart ace scored 28 goals and provided two assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement once every 0.93 games.
In comparison, the City superstar scored 27 goals and provided five assists in 31 games, meaning he not only scored fewer goals in more games than the Guinean but also had an ever-so-slightly worse average of a goal involvement every 0.96 games.
With that said, how does the 28-year-old stack up to the Gunners’ current first-choice striker, Havertz? Well, considering he just enjoyed a more prolific league campaign than City’s Norwegian goal machine, he also comfortably outscored the German, who managed a haul of 13 goals and seven assists in 37 league games – an average of a goal involvement every 1.85 games.
| Guirassy vs Haaland vs Havertz League records | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Guirassy | Haaland | Havertz |
| Appearances | 28 | 31 | 37 |
| Goals | 28 | 27 | 13 |
| Assists | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Goals per Match | 1.00 | 0.87 | 0.35 |
| Goal Involvements per Match | 1.07 | 1.03 | 0.54 |
Moreover, it’s not just raw output where the “outrageous” Bundesliga star shines, as dubbed by journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor, as his striker-relevant underlying numbers are also more impressive than the German’s.
For example, he produced a higher non-penalty expected goal and assists figure, scored more non-penalty goals, took more shots and shots on target and scored more goals from his shots and shots on target, all per 90.
| Guirassy vs Isak vs Havertz | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stats per 90 | Guirassy | Havertz |
| Non-Penalty Goals + Assists | 0.99 | 0.54 |
| Non-Penalty Goals | 0.98 | 0.41 |
| Shots | 3.59 | 2.32 |
| Goals per Shot | 0.27 | 0.18 |
| Shots on Target | 1.63 | 0.92 |
| Goals per Shot on Target | 0.60 | 0.44 |
| All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League Season | ||
Ultimately, the “insane” Guirassy, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has shown himself to be a genuinely elite goalscorer this season, and his underlying numbers suggest it wasn’t a fluke.
Therefore, Edu and Co must do what they can to bring the incredible forward to North London this summer – he could be the bargain of the decade.
