Arsenal eye big move to sign their own Kulusevski

And just like that, Arsenal are well and truly back in the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta’s side went into the North London derby last night knowing that any dropped points would effectively end their domestic season and made sure that did not happen.

It might not have been the best display of finishing from the men in red, but the defence and midfield were immaculate and kept Tottenham Hotspurs’ dangermen from doing much of anything, especially the sensationally talented Dejan Kulusevski.

The Swedish international has been incredible this season, and while he was anonymous last night, we imagine the Arsenal faithful would be delighted to have a player like him in their team.

Fortunately, recent reports have touted another Premier League star who’s won comparisons to him this season with a move to the Emirates in what could be a game-changing transfer.

Arsenal target Kulusevski-esque attacker

According to a recent report from French outlet RMC Sports, Arsenal are one of several clubs interested in Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo.

Alongside the Gunners, it has been revealed that fellow Premier League sides Manchester United and Spurs are keen on the attacker and that they could move to sign the Cameroonian before the month is out.

However, the report has also claimed that it will take a ‘big cheque’ to tempt the Bees into selling, something in excess of €50m, which comes out to about £42m. None of the interested parties have made a bid yet but they have been in contact to ‘gather information’ about what it could take to complete a deal.

That claim seems to have been backed up by Arsenal insider Connor Harrison who has revealed in the last 24 hours that the Gunners have been speaking to his agent since last summer.

It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Mbuemo’s immense ability and Arsenal’s need for attacking reinforcements, it’s one well worth pursuing, especially as he’s won comparisons to Kulusevski this season.

How Mbuemo compares to Kulusevski

So then, before we look at some of the other reasons why Arsenal should be doing all they can to sign Mbuemo this month, let’s examine this comparison to Kulusevski and where it has come from.

It primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in the Premier League this season, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Swede is the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Cameroonian.

We can better understand how this conclusion was reached by looking at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots, live passes, goal-creating actions, tackles won and more, all per 90.

However, while comparisons to a player of the Spurs ace’s calibre – who already has 16 goal involvements to his name this season – is certainly encouraging, it’s obviously not the sole reason why Arteta and Co should be signing the Brentford star this month.

One of the other most significant reasons is his own attacking output, as in just 25 appearances this season, the “unplayable” 25-year-old, as dubbed by Bees boss Thomas Frank, has scored 13 goals and provided four assists, meaning he’s averaging a goal involvement every 1.47 games.

On top of that, the “incredible” former Troyes star, as dubbed by manager Thomas Frank, can play off the right and down the middle, which could see him provide competition for Bukayo Saka – when fit – and Kai Havertz, thus ensuring nobody’s level can drop.

Ultimately, Arsenal are crying out for a forward signing this month, and from how unbelievably well he has played this season, Mbeumo could be the perfect one, and their own Kulusevski to boot.