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TalkSPORT pundit says Arsenal have an attacker who reminds him of Roberto Firmino
When considering Arsenal’s lack of firepower this season, pundit Dean Saunders has now compared one of their forwards to Roberto Firmino.
Following back-to-back defeats for Arsenal against two of their London rivals, who they’d expect to beat, Mikel Arteta’s title push has taken a huge blow.
Arsenal have now slumped to fourth position and look bereft of both goals and belief.
And with no Premier League game until 20th January, Arsenal will now surely have to ponder the addition of a new striker.
Neither Gabriel Jesus or Eddie Nketiah are scoring the goals required for a title-win.
Dean Saunders compares Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus to Roberto Firmino
Although many consider Ivan Toney an obvious upgrade on Jesus, Dean Saunders wasn’t completely convinced.
Saunders recognised the need for improvement, but thought Jesus offered Arsenal some excellent qualities akin to Roberto Firmino in his prime.
Speaking on , he said: “Well the argument is, is Jesus going to get you the goals you need?
“And if you look, I mean I go back to Liverpool again where you’ve got Firmino playing down the middle, Salah and Mane playing either side of him.
“Firmino would make the difference. A 25-year-old Firmino now would make the difference around the box for Liverpoool because Salah needs to play one-twos with people.
“Jesus is like Firmino around the box, really clever, world-class footballer. He doesn’t have the instinct to get you 20 goals.
“So, the argument is, do you get Ivan Toney and leave Jesus out? But if you leave Jesus out, he’s in the magic triangle when they play the one-twos, he’s a great player.”
Ivan Toney would be a smart addition
Dean Saunders does raise an interesting point, the addition of an Ivan Toney as a starter would see Arsenal lose Jesus’ Firmino type qualities.
But as we’ve already seen this season, Jesus can operate on the wing and does need the occasional rest.
Toney would be a smart signing as a direct replacement for Eddie Nketiah.
Although much loved by the Arsenal fan base, the England international doesn’t have the goals needed to complement Jesus’ game.
And as we’ve seen with David Raya’s signing at the club, Mikel Arteta is desperate to have top players competing in all positions.
Both Jesus and Nketiah are strong options, but they simply don’t seem to be working well as a duo in tandem.
That being said, Gary Neville has now shared his thoughts on Arsenal winning the title this season.