The main area of interest seems to be the striker position, with players like Benjamin Sesko and Victor Osimhen being linked in recent weeks, but somewhere else Mikel Arteta may need to reinforce is left-back.
Zinchenko-Jesus-Arsenal
Oleksandr Zinchenko has been touted for a move away from the Emirates in recent days, and while it's never good to lose talented players, the latest star linked with a move to N5 might just be the perfect replacement.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from The Athletic, Arsenal have maintained their interest in Ajax's star defender, Jorrel Hato.
Hato-Ajax-Arsenal
The Gunners' original interest was reported in January, and even though the youngster signed a new deal with the Amsterdam club in the meantime, they seem undeterred.
No potential price is reported in the story, but in November, journalist Suleyman Öztürk told Dutch website SoccerNews he expects the youngster to be sold for around €100m, which converts to around £85m.
Jorrel-Hato-Ajax
While it would be an enormous sum of money, this might be a player worth breaking the bank for.
How Hato compares to Zinchenko
Now, when comparing these two players, there are a couple of things that should be taken into account. The first is that Hato is just 18 years old and the second is that he's primarily a centre-back who is versatile enough to thrive at left-back , for which data analyst Ben Mattinson lauds him as a "swiss-army knife."
That said, in spite of these two things, he stacks up incredibly well against Zinchenko, and actually already looks better in a number of ways, and the best way to see that is through their underlying numbers.
While the young Dutchman understandably comes out second best in metrics like progressive passes, progressive carries, and non-penalty expected goals and assists, he comes out way ahead in a number of others.
Hato vs Zinchenko
Stats per 90
Hato
Zinchenko
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.07
0.16
Progressive Passes
4.74
12.0
Progressive Carries
1.19
2.09
Passing Accuracy
91.9%
87.6%
Tackles
2.04
2.62
Blocks
1.52
0.94
Interceptions
1.37
1.05
Clearances
2.55
1.36
Errors Leading to a Shot
0.00
0.10
Ball Recoveries
5.74
5.45
Aerial Duels Won
2.31
1.41
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 League campaign
For example, the "elite" youngster, as dubbed by Mattinson, makes more blocks, interceptions, clearances, and ball recoveries, makes fewer errors leading to a shot, wins more
aerial duels, and actually has better passing accuracy, all per 90.
His offensive qualities may be lacking compared to the Arsenal full-back, but Arteta showed this season that he is happy with a more defensively-minded left-back in the side when he opted to play both Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the role over the Ukrainian.
Ultimately, while Hato is still young and would likely cost an arm and a leg to sign, he could be the perfect player to replace Zinchenko, especially as talent scout Jacek Kulig has argued he has a "huge future ahead."
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