Dusan Vlahovic scored last night to help Juventus win the Coppa Italia, and that goal serves as a fantastic introduction to Arsenal.
The striker position has been a topic of discussion for Arsenal for many years. Even when they spent £45 million to bring in Gabriel Jesus, his quality hasn’t met the expectations of the Gunners’ management.
In fact, Arsenal’s strikers this season have not scored more than 5 goals each. Gabriel Jesus has only scored 4 goals and has long lost his starting position. Eddie Nketiah, who hasn’t scored since December 12th, has only managed 5 goals.
Arsenal’s strikers did not perform as expected.
Arsenal’s continued pursuit of Manchester City up to this point can be attributed to the contributions of their wingers. The consistent form of Kai Havertz in recent months has also eased some of Mikel Arteta’s concerns. However, in the long run, Arsenal cannot rely solely on this approach. They need a true center-forward, someone who can challenge defenders and score at least 20 goals per season.
Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb recently revealed that Arsenal will make a bid of €65 million to inquire about the acquisition of striker Dusan Vlahovic.
This amount is significantly lower than what the Gunners were willing to offer for Vlahovic back in 2022 when they negotiated with Fiorentina. At that time, Arsenal had offered over €80 million. However, the Serbian striker chose to stay in Serie A and join Juventus.
Currently, the relationship between coach Max Allegri and Vlahovic is questionable. In a match against AC Milan in April, Allegri sparked controversy by substituting Vlahovic off the field when his team needed a goal.
Vlahovic possesses perfect goalscoring skills.
Last night, Vlahovic scored an important goal against Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final. The goal came in the 4th minute. Vlahovic cleverly avoided the offside trap and then muscled past the opposing defender before slotting the ball with his non-dominant foot into the near corner.
Vlahovic seized the opportunity quickly from his team’s transitional play. This is the kind of move that Arsenal should consider if they want to diversify their attacking options.
Vlahovic himself is a fairly versatile striker. In Serie A this season, he has scored 16 goals, including 8 with his left foot, 5 with his right foot, and 3 headers.