Why Arsenal signing Moussa Dembele would ease goalscoring woes
Towards the end of May, a report from Football.London had mentioned Arsenal among the potential suitors for Lyon striker Moussa Dembele heading into the summer transfer window. Premier League rivals Man United and Chelsea were also keen on offering the Frenchman a return to England but he ended up staying put at the Ligue 1 club.
Profile
A youth exponent of Paris Saint-Germain, Moussa Dembele moved to England with Fulham and made his Premier League debut during the 2013-14 season. He shot to prominence following the Cottagers’ relegation to the Championship. A 15-goal haul in the second-tier in 2015/16 earned him a move to Celtic. Dembele went on to establish himself as a prolific goalscorer in Scotland.
The 24-year-old bagged an impressive 51 goals in 94 appearances for Celtic in just over two seasons, guiding the club to successive domestic trebles. Dembele’s exploits prompted Lyon to offer him a route back to his homeland and the striker went on to enjoy an electrifying debut season with 20 goals in all competitions.
Dembele followed it up with 24 goals in all competitions last term as Lyon made it all the way through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. The sharpshooter, though, has suffered a dip in form this season, scoring only once in 15 league appearances so far.
Dembele would be a good long-term option for Arsenal
Arsenal currently find themselves in the bottom half of the table following a disastrous start to the campaign. They need to start putting up some points on the board in the coming months to avoid getting dragged into an ignominious relegation battle.
That Arsenal have managed just 11 goals on the whole clearly underlines the club’s ongoing struggles up top. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently ended his goal drought in the 1-1 draw against Southampton but that was only his third league goal this season. That represents a significant downturn in form for the Gabonese, who bagged 22 goals in the PL last term.
With wide attackers Nicolas Pepe, Willian and Bukayo Saka only sharing two goals among them, it’s easy to dissect Arsenal’s goalscoring crisis this season. Now with the January window knocking on the door, Mikel Arteta needs to line up some potential targets to try and help his side climb up the table.
Arsenal making a renewed attempt to sign Moussa Dembele in January would make sense. The former France U-21 international has hit the 20-goal mark in each of the last two seasons at Lyon and looks ready to make the step up to the Premier League.
Verdict
Given that Alexandre Lacazette’s long-term future remains unresolved, Arsenal can certainly do with a promising young striker to take the pressure off Aubameyang. Moussa Dembele is widely regarded as one of the best young centre-forwards across the continent and has proven his mettle against elite opposition in the Champions League.
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The Gunners are in dire need of a marquee addition to their attack in January to get their campaign back on track. Dembele still has plenty of room for growth at 24, meaning Arsenal shouldn’t hesitate to break the bank for the Lyon star.
