12 goals, 4 assists – Arsenal signing this prolific 22-year-old African ace would be quite a smart move

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Why Arsenal should sign the prolific Patson Daka in January

According to an older report from Football.london, Patson Daka was said to be a priority signing for Arsenal. Daka came on their radar as they were scouting another RedBull Salzburg player Dominik Szoboszlai. It was said that the forward position was one of the priorities of technical director Edu.

Profile

Born in Zambia, Daka began his journey with Nchanga Rangers in his homeland before joining Kafue Celtic. He then spent half a season on loan with Liefering before joining RB Salzburg in the summer of 2017. He initially joined the youth set up and helped the club with the UEFA Youth League that season. He scored 2 goals in 2 games in the competition.

Though he initially struggled in the club’s senior set-up, he was a part of the side which won the league in 2017/18 and the following campaign. Last season, he led the team to the league title with 31 goals and also helped Salzburg lift the Austrian Cup title. He has been on fire this season too with 12 goals and 4 assists in just 11 games.

Patson Daka helped his side win the league title last season with 24 goals (Getty Images)
Patson Daka helped his side win the league title last season with 24 goals (Getty Images)

Daka played a key role in Zambia U20s Africa Cup of Nations win in 2017 and was named the African Youth Player of the year. He is currently a part of the senior side with 18 appearances and 2 goals (source – Transfermarkt).

Daka would add some much-needed freshness to Arsenal’s attack

Questions are now being asked whether Arsenal have really made any progress in the one year Mikel Arteta has been at the helm. While the former player did win the FA Cup and Community Shield last season, Arsenal’s current issues and state are slowly giving rise to questions.

10 games played, 5 lost, 10 goals scored and placed 14th in the table – Arsenal’s start to this season in the league has been terrible. All the early season vigour seems to have disappeared and a tepid style of football has returned to the Emirates. Most of all, their attack looks simply toothless. Their forwards are all struggling this season and can’t seem to get out of their personal slump.

fc salzburg v club brugge uefa europa league round of 32 second leg
SALZBURG, AUSTRIA – FEBRUARY 21: Patson Daka of RB Salzburg celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal with Zlatko Junuzovic (L) and Munas Dabbur of RB Salzburg during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 Second Leg match between RB Salzburg and Club Brugge at Red Bull Arena on February 21, 2019 in Salzburg, Austria. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bongarts/Getty Images )

They seemingly look like they could use a shot in the arm and the signing of Patson Daka could go a long way in doing that. He has ridiculous stats for Salzburg with 66 goal contributions in just 94 games (source – Transfermarkt). While those numbers may be in the Austrian league, they are still very good numbers for a 22-year-old.

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The Gunners should look to sign Daka at the earliest given their goalscoring issues. After all, there are way too many clubs looking at him as per another report from Manchester Evening News.