Arsenal plot move for "one of the best players in the PL"

We are only in the second week of the silly season, yet the rumour mill is in full swing, especially so for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side are enduring something of a minor blip in the Premier League and look destined to exit the League Cup, so links to a whole host of attacking stars shouldn’t be all that surprising.

One of the most prominent links has been to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ star Matheus Cunha, although with talk of him signing a new deal with the Old Gold, it seems unlikely that he’ll be going anywhere.

However, there is another Premier League star that the Gunners have been linked to recently, a star who just so happens to have won comparisons to Cunha this year.

Arsenal chase superb Premier League star

According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal are interested in Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo.

Unfortunately for any fans hoping he might join this month, Plettenberg has revealed that the Cameroon international has been placed on the Gunners’ shortlist for potential summer signings.

The report does not mention a potential price tag, but according to other stories from earlier this month, the talented attacker could be available for around £50m.

It could be a complicated and relatively costly transfer to get over the line, but given Mbeumo’s incredible ability, it’s one well worth pursuing, especially as he’s won comparisons to Cunha.

How Mbeumo compares to fellow Arsenal target Matheus Cunha

So, before we look at a couple of the reasons Arsenal should go out and sign Mbeumo this year, be that this month or in the summer, let’s examine this comparison to Cunha and where it has come from.

It primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Brazilian is the seventh most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Cameroonian over the last 365 days.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, expected goals plus assists, passing accuracy, progressive, live and key passes, shot and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.

Mbeumo & Cunha
Statistics per 90	Mbeumo	Cunha
Expected Goals + Assists	0.54	0.56
Progressive Passes	4.07	4.10
Passing Accuracy	69.5%	71.4%
Key Passes	1.86	1.85
Crosses into the Penalty Area	0.45	0.42
Live Passes	31.4	30.6
Goal-Creating Actions	0.50	0.46
Shot-Creating Actions	3.81	3.98
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Season

However, aside from his similarities to the incredible Wolves talent, there are a couple of other reasons Arteta and Co should look to bring the former Troyes ace in this year.

The first is his incredible output, as in just 23 appearances across all competitions this season, the dynamic attacker, whom pundit Dan Bardell recently dubbed “one of the best players in the Premier League,” has found the back of the net on 13 occasions and provided four assists for good measure.

This means that, as things stand, the 25-year-old ace is averaging a goal involvement every 1.35 games for the Bees.

Finally, on top of bringing more goals to the team, the Avallon-born dynamo would also be the perfect player to cover for Bukayo Saka off the right – to ensure he is no longer overplayed – and he could also rival Kai Havetrz and Gabriel Jesus for the number nine role, ensuring they have to stay on their toes at all times.

Ultimately, while it wouldn’t be cheap, Arsenal should do what they can to bring Mbeumo to the Emirates this year, as his goalscoring abilities and positional versatility would make the team far stronger.