The deal Arsenal should have done? Striker sends Arteta message by slaying Leverkusen

Arsenal completed almost all they wanted to in the transfer window with the late signing of Raheem Sterling, yet in missing out on a centre-forward, there remains a point of weakness that in an ideal world Mikel Arteta would have wished to address.

Numerous players were explored, from Napoli’s Victor Osimhen to Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, but having been quoted €100 million or more for both, no deals were done.

But RB Leipzig forward Lois Openda, who has made it is his target to beat Harry Kane to the Bundesliga’s Golden Boot, is one player who could come onto the radar of Arsenal and Arteta sooner or later.

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Prior to Saturday evening, it had been 35 Bundesliga matches since Bayer Leverkusen had tasted defeat, with Xabi Alonso’s side having earned legendary status. Openda played a major role in stopping the run dead.

The Belgium international scored twice in the second half as RB Leipzig came from 2-0 behind to record a victory that will send tremors through the German game.

Indeed, he comprehensively outperformed clubmate Benjamin Sesko, who was another of the forwards that Arsenal were interested in.

According to FootballCritic, Openda, who was deployed as a No.9, scored 8.4 to Sesko’s 6.9 in a slightly deeper role.

He operated as a pure No.9, rarely getting too involved in play but being deadly when given the chance. This is the type of player Arteta has been studying.

Arsenal a strong fit

Data analytics experts SciSports, meanwhile, see Openda as a strong fit for Arsenal, offering him a Club Fit score of 78 based on a multitude of factors from potential development and playing time, to formation and style.

Interestingly, this is the same score that Leipzig get and means that Gunners are ranked as the striker’s joint-fourth best option behind Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Arsenal are seen as an optimal location for him to unlock his full potential, given five stars in this particular capacity, but while Arteta’s playing style suits him, there are questions over their style and the playing time he would earn.

Nevertheless, Openda is an option that Arteta and Arsenal should keep an eye on before January, should they still need a striker to fuel their Premier League push at that point.