Arsenal submit bid to sign "world-class" ace who could become their own Harry Kane

For all the iconic and successful stars that have donned the red and white of Arsenal over the years, from Thierry Henry to Liam Brady, the club have also had their fair share of bogey players.

These are the opposition players who've had a knack for scoring against the Gunners and making life miserable for their fans.

For example, Chelsea's legendary Diddier Drogba famously loved taking on the North Londoners, as did Liverpool's Roberto Firmino, but without a doubt, the striker who's been the biggest thorn in Arsenal's side over the years has been Harry K

The former Tottenham Hotspur star scored 14 goals against the club while playing for the Lilywhites, and even though he left the country entirely in 2023, he came back with Bayern Munich last season and added another to his tally in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Ironically, given the Gunners' current slump in form, the Walthamstow-born marksman is just the kind of player they need, but while he's not available this month, recent reports have linked the club with another striker who's been compared to the 31-year-old.

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Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Football Transfers, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović.

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The report goes a step further, revealing that the North Londoners have already seen an offer to take the player on loan for the rest of the season rejected by the Old Lady.

However, reports from earlier this month claimed that the Italian giants offered the Serbian striker to the Gunners for just €55m, which is about £46m, and considering the story claims that they have not ruled out going back in for him this window, that's a fee that seems achievable.

Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic in action with Lazio's Patric

In all, Arsenal might just have to stump up the cash to sign Vlahović this month, but given his ability, that might not even be such a bad thing, especially as he's won comparisons to the sensational Kane this season.

How Vlahović compares to Kane and why Arsenal should sign him

So, before we look at how Vlahović has got on this season and why Arsenal should sign him this month, let's examine this comparison to Kane, and where it has come from.

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It primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in the Champions League this season, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the tenth most similar forward to the Serbian.

We can better understand how this conclusion was reached by looking at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, non-penalty expected goals plus assists, actual assists, progressive passes and carries, ball recoveries and more, all per 90.

Vlahović & Kane

Statistics per 90

Vlahović

Kane

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.61

0.68

Progressive Passes

2.50

2.80

Progressive Carries

1.14

1.40

Passing Accuracy

77.8%

76.0%

Assists

0.23

0.20

Tackles Won

0.23

0.20

Ball Recoveries

1.36

1.60

All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 UCL Season

On top of the underlying similarities, the pair have also been similarly effective in Europe's top competition, with the former Spurs star racking up five goals and one assist in 450 minutes to the Juve ace's four goals and one assist in just 401 minutes.

With all that said, it's this ability in front of goal that, away from comparisons to the Englishman, should convince Arsenal to splash the cash on the former Fiorentina star this month.

For example, in just 23 appearances across all competitions this season, the "world-class" marksman, as dubbed by journalist Siavoush Fallahi, has found the back of the net 12 times and provided two assists for good measure.

That means the Belgrade-born dynamo is averaging a goal involvement every 1.64 games, which, for a Juventus team languishing down in fifth place and struggling to create chances this season, is really quite impressive.

Ultimately, while he might not be the first name on most fans' wishlists this month, Vlahović is a brilliant striker, and for the fee being reported, it seems like a total no-brainer for an Arsenal side crying out for a goalscoring number nine.