Arsenal plot deadline day move for “unbelievable” £34m star who’s like Saka

The clock is now ticking down to the end of the transfer window, and while they’ve had all summer to conduct their business, some in the fanbase feel that Arsenal haven’t quite done enough.

Edu Gaspar and Co have sold incredibly well over the last month or so, with Emile Smith Rowe going to Fulham for a fee that could reach £34m, Aaron Ramsdale on his way to Southampton for up to £25m and Eddie Nketiah finally leaving to join Crystal Palace for up to £30m.

However, as things stand, the only new additions to Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad have been Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino, and as exciting as they are, it feels somewhat inadequate in the face of Manchester City.

Fortunately, the club themselves clearly believe they need to strengthen their forward options, as recent reports have linked them to a top-class attacker who’s been compared to Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from the Mail Online, Arsenal are still interested in Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman.

In fact, while Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal are keen to sign the player, the report claims that the Gunners are eyeing up a ‘last-minute move’ for the Frenchman before the window slams shut.

A potential price is not mentioned in the report, but stories from earlier in the window revealed that the Champions League winner would be available for around £34m, or even on a season-long loan, which would be ideal for the North Londoners.

It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Coman’s incredible ability, it’s worth pursuing, especially as he’s been compared to Saka.

Why Coman would be a great signing and his comparison to Saka

Okay, before we get into why Coman would be an excellent signing for Arsenal, let’s examine this comparison to club poster boy Saka and where it comes from.

It stems primarily from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and the Europa League. It creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one and, in this case, has concluded that the Englishman is the ninth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Bayern ace.

Now, there are some apparent similarities between the two internationals, like their positions and goalscoring abilities, but to understand how FBref came to such a specific conclusion, you need to look at their underlying numbers and the ones in which they rank closely, such as expected assists and actual assists, progressive passes received, goals per shot, short passing accuracy, through balls, blocks, dribblers tackled touches in the attacking third, goal-creating actions and successful take-on percentage, all per 90.

However, while a comparison to arguably the Gunners’ most important player is undoubtedly an encouraging sign and a reason the club should consider signing him, it’s not the only one.

For example, one of the other most significant advantages of signing the “unbelievable” attacker, as Rio Ferdinand dubbed him, is his versatility.

In his career to date, the former Paris Saint-Germain gem has started 171 games off the left and 118 off the right. This ability to play on either side of a front three could make him such an important player for Arteta, as he could act as cover for Saka one week and then compete with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli the next.

Moreover, he’s scored 64 goals and provided 66 assists in 296 appearances for Bayern over the years, which equates to a goal involvement on average every 2.27 games, meaning he wouldn’t just be competing for competition’s sake; he would contribute.

Ultimately, Arsenal need to add to their attacking options before the clock strikes 11 tomorrow night, and given his impressive ability, positional versatility, and similarity to Saka, bringing in Coman on loan or permanently would be an excellent idea.