Arsenal solve one transfer issue as striker search steps up | OneFootball

Ethan Nwaneri has stepped up in Bukayo Saka’s absence

Arsenal need to sign a striker before Monday’s transfer deadline, but the club’s search for a new winger can wait until the summer.

Ethan Nwaneri made that abundantly clear on Wednesday night, as the 17-year-old continued to show how he is a genuine option on the right flank in Bukayo Saka’s absence.

Saka is not due back until March after tearing his hamstring last month and Mikel Arteta has experimented with different solutions.

The 17-year-old was handed his first start in the Champions League on Wednesday and marked it by scoring the winning goal against Girona as Arsenal booked a place in the last 16.

The goal was the 17-year-old’s sixth of the season and his second this month since he was moved to the right wing.

That’s what we love about him, he’s willing to take the initiative to make things happen

Mikel Arteta on Ethan Nwaneri

“That’s what we love about him, he’s willing to take the initiative to make things happen. He’s very aggressive when he’s got the ball and so confident.

“He has the capacity to finish from every angle basically. It’s very natural for him, you can see the way he takes the touches, how he beats people and then the technique he’s got, he’s so precise in his finishing. Put him a lot of times in that situation and the outcome will be good.”

Nwaneri has broken into Arsenal’s first-team squad this season and he has primarily been used in midfield as an understudy to Martin Odegaard.

Arteta believes, in the long term, the 17-year-old could develop into a striker and he was occasionally deployed as a ‘false nine’ when playing for Arsenal’s academy teams. Nwaneri certainly has the finishing required to become a No9.

Right now, though, he looks like Arsenal’s best option on the right and Arteta will be tempted to start him against Manchester City on Sunday.

Of all the Saka replacements available, Nwaneri is the most similar in profile to him. Martinelli, Sterling and Trossard are all right-footed and lack that ability to cut inside - which they can do when playing off the left.

Ethan Nwaneri celebrates scoring

AP

Nwaneri eases Arsenal’s immediate need for a winger, although if he is to be pushed forward then another midfielder would be welcome. The Gunners are in talks over a deal for Rosenborg’s teenage star Sverre Nypan, with Girona also chasing him, and he is due to decide his next club in the coming days.

The bigger priority, however, is a new striker. Kai Havertz was, finally, given a rest on Wednesday night after starting the last six games.

The German played all but 16 of the 570 minutes across those matches and basically collapsed on the pitch after Arsenal’s win at Wolves last Saturday.

In the Premier League, when it comes to Arsenal’s outfield players, only Gabriel, Thomas Partey and William Saliba have played more minutes than Havertz.

The German needs competition and cover. Gabriel Jesus is out for the season with a knee injury and so Arteta turned to Leandro Trossard against Girona.

The Belgian put in a solid performance, hitting the post in the first-half, and he has played upfront for Arsenal before.

The issue is that it deprives Arteta of another option out wide and so the need for a striker remains.

Arsenal are working to bring someone in before Monday’s transfer deadline and they have had an approach for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins turned down.

Whether they return with a fresh bid remains to be seen, but what is clear is that Arsenal need to get a No9 through the door before the window slams shut on Monday.