Arsenal realise signing a new striker during the summer window is the club's top priority. Aubameyang's arrival at Barcelona in January, coupled with the imminent expiry of Nketiya and Lacazette's contracts, although the latter could extend his stay in North London means the Gunners will be at risk of entering Europe without a top striker. They tried to correct the problem at the beginning of the year, they took part in the serie A striker Vlahović, only to be frustrated in the pursuit of the Serb, who chose to join rival Juventus from Fiorentina, which made the Purple Lily very angry. Between now and the end of the season, Arsenal will only have Lacazette and Nketiah to rely on, while Martinelli can take on this role when needed.
However, Benfica's Darwin Nunez has recently been rumored to be the club's signing target and Arsenal are expected to operate the deal once the transfer window opens. The Uruguayan may not have the star influence of Vlahović or Haaland, but that doesn't mean Arsenal fans will lose sight of the striker's ability. The 22-year-old currently leads the Portuguese Premier League top scorers list with 20 goals, and he has at least five more goals than the rest of the Portuguese Premier League. Of those 20 goals, 17 came from sports and only 3 were penalties. For Arsenal, who are fourth in key passes in the Premier League this season (287), the deal is a match of heaven for both players and clubs.
"He kicked the ball into the net and that was the first priority," Arsenal boss Arteta said earlier this month when asked what he wanted from his centre-forward. Of the 20 league goals Núñez has scored this season, 15 are clearly fantastic opportunities, which also speaks to the Uruguayan striker's ability to take chances. That's not to say that Núñez is just a center without compromise. He's an effective pivot player, but he's capable of playing on the flanks and willing to pull to the flanks, which means he's able to carve out space for his teammates. In Arteta's favourite 4-2-3-1 formation, the players behind the striker – Martinelli, Erdegaard or Smith Roy and Saka – have dominated Arsenal's attack this season, with the two England players scoring nine goals each and the other two scoring five goals each. Here, the team is still missing a goal threat from the main centre-forwards. Aubameyang scored just four league goals before moving to Barcelona earlier this year, while Lacazette scored just his fourth league goal of the 2021-22 season in his win over Leicester earlier this month.
So the 22-year-old Nunez is likely to be the last piece of the puzzle for Arsenal's exciting attacking system. Moreover, as Lacazette could do, Nunez was able to get the others to play a role in launching attacks together. Lacazette has surpassed any Arsenal player in the Premier League with 7 assists this season, with 1.6 key passes per game. Nunez's assist stats may not look good on paper – the youngster has only provided two assists for Benfica this season, both of which were made in the 6-1 win over Braga on November – however, that's largely because his teammates were profligate. In fact, Núñez averaged 1.4 key passes per game, the fifth-highest number among Benfica players this season. Imagine how many assists he can deliver in Arsenal's attacking system.
The key detail, however, is Núñez's ability to deliver the ball into goal, and his composure helped him do just that. Among the 70 Portuguese Premier League players who have shot more than 25 times this season, Núñez's shooting percentage (32.3%) is much higher than the Portuguese Premier League average. Benfica's average of 11.7 key passes per game is the second-best pass stat in Portugal's top flight, so the Portuguese Super League giants don't create chances occasionally, but Nunez's ruthlessness in front of goal means he knows how to choose his place when chances arise. By contrast, Lacazette has brought a 9.8 per cent conversion rate for Arsenal in the Premier League this season, so it's clear what the Gunners need to step up this summer, even before considering the expiry of the club's only legitimate centre-forward's contract.
What attracted Arsenal was not only Núñez's prolificity, but also the unpredictability when he had the chance to score. He scored 19 of his 20 goals in the league from inside the box, but the key is that he can score any type of goal. Of those, 12 goals came from the right foot and 4 from the left foot and head. In addition, in the 2021-22 season, he was one of only four players to score multiple goals using three body parts. If Arsenal can finally sign Núñez, they will have a chance to increase their attacking threat and become a competitive team in the Premier League again. Despite the gap between the portuguese Premier League's league level and the Premier League, Núñez's early signs will still excite Gunners fans, and Arteta's side may prove that the signing will be key to their success as they try to reach the top four in the Premier League.