Arsenal could sign Jesus upgrade who’s “the most prolific striker in Europe”

With the halfway point of the 2023/24 season now firmly in the rearview mirror, it would be fair to describe Arsenal’s Premier League campaign as mixed thus far.

The Gunners are flying in the Champions League but currently find themselves five points behind Liverpool on the domestic front despite sitting atop the table just a few weeks ago. While there are several reasons for this dropoff, one of the most significant is the poor form of their frontline.

Mikel Arteta has seen his side score just 37 goals this season, which is the lowest out of the current top five and 11 fewer than Manchester City, so with this in mind, fans should be delighted with the latest player touted for a move to N5 as he could be the perfect Gabriel Jesus upgrade.

Arsenal’s striker search

According to a report from Football Insider last week, Arsenal are on the lookout for a new striker in 2024 and are among a number of clubs ‘considering’ a swoop for Feyenoord’s Mexican number nine, Santiago Gimenez.

The report revealed that, alongside the Gunners, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham are all interested in the incredibly exciting forward this year, meaning a bidding war could break out between the London clubs.

While the interest from their city rivals is far from ideal for the north Londoners, report states that it could take an offer of between £30m-£40m to secure Gimenez’s signature is undoubtedly good news.

This would still represent a significant investment from the Gunners, and beating their fellow London clubs to his signature will surely require an awful lot of work. Still, it would be worth the effort for a striker who scored 15 goals last season and is well on his way to doubling that total this year.

How Santiago Gimenez compares to Gabriel Jesus

Now, it could be seen as unfair to single out Jesus for criticism when speaking about Arsenal’s lacklustre frontline this season, as, after all, the former City man has three league goals so far, whereas Gabriel Martinelli has just two.

However, the 22-year-old is there to do more than just score goals, although when he is in goalscoring form, he can be a real threat, as he ended last season with 15 league goals to his name.

So, with a new number nine being at the top of Arteta’s wishlist this year, who better than one who has already netted 19 league goals and two Champions League goals in 21 appearances this season?

Dubbed “the most prolific striker in Europe” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, Feyenoord’s Gimenez has been like a man possessed this year, and while the step-up to the Premier League would almost certainly reduce his goalscoring rate somewhat, it would still likely be a massive upgrade on Jesus’ lethality in front of goal.

With that in mind, how do the pair’s underlying numbers compare? Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, given the polar opposite veins of form the pair are in, the “Mexican machine”, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, dominates in the majority of relevant statistics.

For example, the “insane” 22-year-old, as described by Mango, produces almost double the non-penalty expected goals and assists figure as Jesus, scores more than four times as many goals, provides more assists, takes more shots on target, scores from fewer shots on target and even wins more aerial duels per 90 than the Brazilian.

While it is quite a one-sided comparison, Jesus does come out on top in progressive passes and carries per 90, suggesting that he makes a more holistic contribution to the team, but with Arsenal so desperately requiring a clinical finisher, that could be an area of his game that other players can cover.

Ultimately, Jesus is a very talented player, but he is not a clinical striker, and as such, with the title race still ongoing, the Gunners should be going after Gimenez.