Arsenal would be crowned Premier League champions if either Erling Haaland or Alexander Isak were leading their attack.
That’s the view of former Premier League striker and talkSPORT pundit Troy Deeney, who has assessed Kai Havertz’s impact in the Gunners’ attack and called for them to spend big on a new striker.
The past two seasons saw Arsenal fall short of the Premier League title, with the current campaign hosting their third attempt at glory.
Whilst their defence is one of the best in the league, there has been an increased sense that a clinical striker is the glaring missing piece.
Havertz leads their league scoring efforts on eight goals but when compared to rival forwards, his tally is not competitive.
Haaland has netted 18 for Manchester City whilst Isak sits on 17 with Newcastle, two players that could make the difference for Arsenal.
Havertz vs Haaland: ‘It’s not even a question‘
Ahead of this weekend’s clash between Arsenal and City, Deeney was asked whether he’d prefer to have Havertz or Haaland in his team.
“What are we talking about? It’s not even a question,” he insisted when speaking to talkSPORT. “A midfielder or a striker?
“One’s a midfielder, one’s a striker It’s not a debate. Havertz has done ok, he’s streaky, but Haaland’s having a bad season and he’s on 20 goals, let that sink in.”
Why do managers keep playing Havertz up front?
Havertz has struggled as a reliable and consistent output of goals for Arsenal although remains an attacking option for Mikel Arteta.
This was the same with Thomas Tuchel when they were at Chelsea, with Julian Nagelsmann selecting him up front for Germany too.
So when asked about why Havertz still plays in such a role, Deeney explained: “Because he’s an exceptional footballer, he’s got an exceptional football brain.
“He can move, he’s physically strong as well. But when I talk about strikers and goalscorers, I talk about… We’ve got one at talkSPORT, Darren Bent, they score the majority of the time.
“Jermain Defoe, Andy Cole, these guys… When you see a chance, and Alan Shearer, when they go through, you go, ‘Goal.’ When Havertz goes through, you go, ‘Oh, what’s going to happen?’
“And it’s just a thing that happens in your mind when you go through, they don’t… When Haaland misses a chance, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, he missed that.’
“When he scores, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I knew that.’ You don’t get that same sense of feeling with everybody, Isak does it as well in the Premier League.
“Even somebody like Ollie Watkins, when he goes through you don’t think, ‘Goal’. You try and wait, and see what’s going to happen. So that debate, it’s neither here nor there and Mr Haaland is the man.”
Would Arsenal win the league with Haaland up front?
With a striker the supposed solution to ending Arsenal’s 21-year title drought, they only need to look towards their current competition.
Deeney was asked if Arteta’s side would be crowned champions with Haaland in their attack, and it was a no-brainer for him.
“Yes,” he said without hesitating. “And they would win it if they had Isak up front.”
He added: “It’s obvious, it’s not obvious just for me, it’s obvious for my missus who’s an Arsenal fan, who doesn’t really know a great deal about football. She’s been saying, ‘We need a striker,’ for two years.
“So, they’ve spent nearly £400million on defenders in Arteta’s time, £300million on midfielders, and £170million on forward players.
“And you’re still trying to catch Mo Salah and you’re still trying to catch Haaland, and now you’re trying to catch Isak.
“Got to spend some money man, stop being tight.”
Arsenal certainly haven’t neglected the opportunity to welcome a top striker.
In fact, Isak has been of interest to the north London side but it was reported in December that Newcastle have priced him at £150million.
This fee would become a new British transfer record, surpassing the potential £115million that Chelsea spent on Moises Caicedo in 2023.
Newcastle are believed to be set to offer a new long-term contract to Isak at the end of the season.
Arsenal could therefore find it incredibly difficult to sign the Swede given a move would require them to break numerous transfer records.
The Gunners have the chance to be reminded about Haaland’s devastating goal threat on Sunday when the two sides clash at the Emirates.
The Norwegian has scored 81 goals in 89 Premier League appearances and could win a third consecutive Golden Boot this season.
He also committed his long-term future to City recently by signing a whopping ten-year contract worth around £500,000-a-week.
Arsenal are trying to bring in a forward this month, but it looks increasingly unlikely with the clock ticking down to Friday’s deadline.
talkSPORT reported earlier in the month that long-term target and Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic is being considered by the Gunners.
RB Leipzig talent Benjamin Sesko has also been on their radar but his agent has said that a loan move in January is not an option.
With Havertz’s lack of league goals and Gabriel Jesus sidelined with an ACL injury, Arteta has sent a message to the club’s board.
Kai Havertz in the Premier League in 2024/2025
| Games played | 20 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 2 |
“My message is clear, we lost two very important players, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus,” he said last week. “So we lack goals, we lack people, we lack options in the front line, it’s clear.”
He added: “If we can get the right player, that’s why we are actively looking at it. Any player? No. Someone that makes us better and has an impact in the team.
“It’s clear that for the period that we lost them [Saka and Jesus], ideally we need some help because we were very short already.
“And now we are even shorter, but the team still copes with that. But we have to do what is right for the club.”