Arsenal invincible ‘wishes’ Arteta would sign Liverpool star after ‘exciting’ summer links – exclusive

Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere is a “mad fan” of Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and would love to see him play for the Gunners.

Before his StriveAid appearance on Sunday, Aliadiere exclusively spoke to Football365 about Arsenal’s striker situation and whether or not Gabriel Jesus has what it takes to replace Kai Havertz in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

He said: “It’s a tough question because I will always try to think long-term over the season. I think he can, he definitely can.

“Havertz is not a natural number nine. He’s doing a fantastic job but over a full season, Champions League, Premier League, and we have seen it lately when Arsenal have struggled more and it has been more difficult, Jesus could be the answer.

“He is not a typical number nine; he likes to come and get involved, get the ball, get involved in the build-up. I am not sure that is the answer.

“For me, a number nine is someone who is going to run behind, stretch the team out for the tricky player to come and build the game.

“Arsenal have lost that number nine, running in behind, I don’t think they have anyone capable of doing that regularly. Jesus will be able to play there when Havertz is not on form, it’s just the way of playing, the way Arsenal play focuses on the wide areas with [Bukayo] Saka and [Gabriel] Martinelli, we come and combine.”

Asked if Arteta is trying to replicate Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team by using a false-nine like the German did with Roberto Firmino, Aliadiere replied: “It’s how football is and has turned into.

“We have turned into every team wants to play from the back, every team has got wingers, nobody plays 4-4-2 anymore, everyone plays 4-3-3.

“Big change in the world of football, not just Arsenal, there’s a new vision. Maybe it’s the Pep Guardiola era.”

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Asked if what is missing at Arsenal is an out-and-out striker, Aliadiere said: “It is good to have both (kinds of strikers).

“This season, teams have sussed Arsenal out. They know how we play, they know the left-back comes into centre-midfield and we play a certain way. I feel teams have worked it out and know how to play against us.

“We are not dominating or battering teams like we did last year. I know we did not end up winning the Premier League but last year we were battering teams. Now we are winning games but it is never easy, we are grinding results sometimes and you have got to do this over the season to win the Premier League.

“When it doesn’t work out, have you got a Plan B? Taking Havertz off for Trossard is not a Plan B for me. Same personnel, same way of playing and it isn’t going to change much, it’s just maybe Trossard might be on a better day today and might create something better than Havertz on the day. But it isn’t really a Plan B in terms of changing things around. Maybe we do need a number nine.”

We asked Aliadiere if Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres is the answer but he was quick to speak about his true love: Darwin Nunez.

“Yeah, definitely. He is that type of player.

“I know he is at Liverpool but I am a massive fan of Darwin Nunez. Absolutely mad fan of the guy because I love his work ethic, his runs, his determination and I wish we had a player like him at Arsenal.

“I remember in the summer there were some talks about him coming to Arsenal. That excited me because I’d love to see him with us.

“That type of player, keeps bothering defenders, making runs in behind, stretching the defence, even though it’s not for him, it’s for the team, the others get massive rewards from it.

“I know people will say he needs five chances to score sometimes, he is not the best finisher, I am not bothered about this. For me, the effort and the work rate and the drama that he causes is worth everything.”

Aliadiere added: “Who knows what they need to get over the line. We are progressing as a club. It’s fantastic the job Arteta has done, it’s incredible.

“Now we are getting into a stage where fans say we need to win now because we have been challenging and getting better and better. We want to see that Premier League at the end of the season.”

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