And just like that, Arsenal are back up and running.
Mikel Arteta’s side have returned from the international break like a house on fire, dismantling Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last week and then doing the same to the imposing Sporting CP on Tuesday in the Champions League.
It’s been an impressive response from the entire team, exemplified by the fact that five different players got on the scoresheet in Lisbon.
Unsurprisingly, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz were among those five, but based on recent reports, the latter could have some extra competition from an up-and-coming talent outscoring the former in the league.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in Ipswich Town’s mightly impressive Liam Delap.
Alongside the Gunners, the report has revealed that fellow Premier League sides Aston Villa and Newcastle United are keen on the 21-year-old, while teams from the continent, including PSV, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Ajax and Bayern Munich have also taken notice.
While this extra competition is far from ideal, the good news is that it may not cost the North Londoners too much to get their man, with the report claiming that an offer of up to €50m, which is about £40m, would be enough to tempt Ipswich into selling.
It would still represent a significant investment from Arsenal, but given Delap’s ability and clear potential, it is worth making, especially as he’d be a dream rival for Havertz and is already outscoring Saka in the Premier League.
How Delap compares to Havertz & Saka
So, the first thing to say is that should Arsenal sign Delap, it won’t be with the intention of instantly making him the club’s first choice number nine.
Instead, he’d likely come in as a rival for Havertz, and based on his form this season, he’d be a great one at that.
For example, despite playing for a newly promoted side and being his first campaign in the top flight, the “super” striker, as dubbed by BBC pundit Danny Murphy, has found the back of the net six times in 12 league appearances and provided an assist to boot.
That’s two more goals than the Gunners’ number 29 and Saka have managed in the league so far, although their complete hauls of nine and 15 goal involvements this season, respectively, beat out the former Manchester City gem’s seven.
So, with it clear that the Winchester-born ace has the raw talent to at least keep up with the former Chelsea ace, how do his underlying numbers compare?
Well, quite surprisingly, it’s the Tractor Boys’ goalscoring phenomenon that comes out ahead, and by quite a significant margin at that.
For example, he beats the Aachen-born forward in the majority of metrics, including but not limited to non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots on target as well as goals per shot and shot on target, key passes, goal-creating actions and successful take-ons, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.43
0.52
Actual Non-Penalty G+As
0.74
0.45
Progressive Passes
1.16
3.00
Progressive Carries
2.11
1.82
Shots
2.11
2.55
Shots on Target
1.16
0.91
Goals per Shot
0.30
0.14
Goals per Shot on Target
0.55
0.40
Passing Accuracy
62.4%
75.0%
Key Passes
0.84
0.82
Shot-Creating Actions
2.21
2.55
Goal-Creating Actions
0.21
0.09
Successful Take-Ons
1.26
0.55
Aerial Duels Won
1.05
3.36
Ultimately, while it would be unfair to expect a player so young to come in and immediately be at the level of a side like Arsenal, it certainly appears Delap might already be incredibly close.
Therefore, the North Londoners should do what they can to secure the young Englishman’s signature as soon as possible before someone else beats them to it.
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