No.1 target: Arsenal eye move for 22-goal "powerhouse" who's better than Isak & Jesus - opinion

The talented youngster has been on fire this season.

Alexander-Isak-Newcastle-PSG-Champions-League

After an incredibly intense ten months of football that have seen Arsenal stage last-second comebacks, demolish their nearest rivals, and rack up the most wins they have ever had in the Premier League, it's another second-place finish for the north Londoners.

Mikel Arteta's side have been pretty much perfect for most of the season, but pretty much is not nearly enough when coming up against Pep Guardiola's freakishly resilient Manchester City, and while Arsenal took them to the final day, it's back to the drawing board over the summer.

Arsenal-everton-premier-league

However, with the Spaniard's team boasting the best defence in the league by five goals, it's clear that the attack must be the focus, and based on recent reports, the Gunners could be about to sign a forward who could replace Gabriel Jesus and make them forget about Alexander Isak.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from the Independent, Arsenal are intent on signing a new striker before the start of pre-season, and there are two names at the top of their list: Isak and Brian Brobbey.

brian-brobbey-ajax-premier-league-everton-transfers

The former has been a target for some time and remains their top choice over the latter, but according to the report, the Gunners believe the chance of Newcastle United selling the Swede this summer is low and, as they do not want to get drawn into a protracted saga, they have earmarked the Ajax ace as their secondary top choice.

A reliable price for the 22-year-old has not been reported at this point, but Football Transfers' Player Valuation Model has claimed he could be worth around €24m, or £21m, which, if true, would represent an absolute bargain, and one the Gunners' should jump on.

The Dutchman may not be a household name like Isak, but he has been in red-hot form this year and could be the perfect Jesus upgrade to boot, and if the price is anywhere close to £21m, Arsenal can't afford to miss out.

How Brobbey compares to Isak and Jesus

So, if Arteta and Edu Gaspar are looking to sign a striker who is going to help them bridge the gap to City next season, the most critical factor is their pure output.

brian-brobbey

In his 43 games this season, Brobbey has scored a whopping 22 goals and provided 12 assists to boot, giving him an average of a goal involvement every 1.2 games, which would be impressive for any player, let alone for one who turned 22 in February.

In comparison, Jesus has returned eight goals and eight assists in 36 games, giving him an average of 2.2 goal involvements per game, while Isak's 25 goals and two assists in 40 games mean he averaged 1.48 goal involvements per game last season.

Brobbey vs Isak vs Jesus

Players

Brobbey

Isak

Jesus

Appearances

43

36

40

Goals

22

8

25

Assists

12

8

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.79

0.44

0.67

All Stats via Transfermarkt

So, with it clear that the Amsterdam-born "powerhouse", as described by U23 scout Antonio Mango, comes out ahead for output, how do the trio's underlying numbers compare?

Well, it is once again advantage to the Dutchman as in almost every striker-relevant metric, he comes out on top, including non-penalty expected goals and assists, non-penalty goals, shots on target, goals per shot on target, goal-creating actions and especially aerial duels won, all per 90.

Brobbey vs Isak vs Jesus

Stats per 90

Brobbey

Isak

Jesus

Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists

0.95

0.77

0.62

Non-Penalty Goals

0.67

0.64

0.24

Assists

0.30

0.08

0.30

Shots on Target

1.50

1.44

1.16

Goals per Shot on Target

0.45

0.44

1.16

Passing Accuracy

78.2%

78.1%

78.6%

Shot-Creating Actions

3.44

2.87

3.55

Goal-Creating Actions

0.56

0.40

0.49

Aerial Duels Won

2.43

0.36

0.91

All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League Season

However, he does come out second best to the Gunners' number nine for shot-creating actions and passing accuracy while producing the same number of assists as the 27-year-old per 90.

Interestingly, Newcastle's star striker fails to come out ahead in any of the comparisons, suggesting that while Brobbrey is currently Arsenal's second choice, he should perhaps be their first.

Ultimately, Jesus and Isak are both incredibly talented strikers and the number of goals the latter scores would surely improve Arteta's side.

However, considering the potential price, output, and underlying numbers, the Spaniard should look to Ajax's star striker first this summer.