The incredible forward has been in red-hot form this season.Arsenal have undergone a dramatic transformation under the leadership of Mikel Arteta in the four and a half years since he joined the club.The Spaniard has taken them from mid-table underachievers to genuine contenders for both the Premier League and Champions League, all while watching his side increase their points tally year after year.It would be fair to describe his current side as the best iteration yet, although they are missing something he had in years gone by: a prolific striker, a player like former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.The Gabonese international certainly had his problems off the pitch, but in his pomp, he was as clinical as they came, boasting 92 goals in just 163 games for the club. Based on recent reports, the Gunners could soon have someone similar in the side once again.Arsenal’s striker searchAccording to Italian journalist Fabio Santini (via TVplay Official on Twitch), while Arsenal are making their appreciation and interest in Marcus Thuram clear to Inter Milan, they “would like to take” Lautaro Martinez.The journalist revealed that while the Italian side do not want to sell the free-scoring “animal”, as national team coach Lionel Scaloni described him, they would be willing to let him go for around €140m, which converts to around £120m.The Serie A champions’ willingness to consider a transfer is rooted in their ongoing contract negotiations with Martinez. As Santini points out, there is a significant disparity of around €3m – £2.5m – between the player’s demands and the club’s offer. If this gap cannot be bridged, Inter may see selling Martinez as the most viable option.It would certainly be a sizeable investment from the Gunners, but with comparisons to their former captain, it could be one worth making.How Martinez compares to AubameyangWhile it’s certainly a notable comparison, it stems mainly from FBref, which looks at the underlying statistics for every player in Europe’s top five leagues and then compiles a list of the ten most similar players to the player in question. In Martinez’s case, Aubameyang is the fifth most similar player across the top five leagues.While the Gabonese forward has struggled for form in recent years and endured a torrid time with Chelsea in the 2022/23 season – scoring just three times – he has been back to his very best for Marseille this year, racking up a staggering 30 goals and 11 assists in 51 games, meaning that comparisons to the version we have seen this campaign is high praise indeed.With that said, how has FBref concluded that these two forwards are so similar? Well, they rank very closely for several key metrics, such as non-penalty expected goals and assists, goals scored, progressive carries, shots and shots on target, goals per shot, goal-creating actions, tackles won, blocks made and successful take-ons, all per 90.The similarities between the two right-footed marksmen are clear as day, but if that isn’t enough to convince the Gunners to spend that extra cash on the player Lionel Messi described as “spectacular” and “complete,” then perhaps the fact that he has scored 27 goals and provided seven assists in just 44 games for the Nerazzurri this season is.Ultimately, while it would be the most expensive transfer in Arsenal’s history, and by quite some way as well, it might just be worth pursuing, as adding a player reminiscent of the best version of Aubameyang into Arteta’s most complete side yet is an exciting and terrifying thought at the same time.
