‘Top’: Martin Keown says striker Arsenal have wanted to sign for months scored a goal that was ‘Ronaldo-like’

If Arsenal wind up signing any striker who can even remotely finish like Cristiano Ronaldo, they will be set for years.

But as things stand, Mikel Arteta does not have a single centre-forward on his books who he can consider a lethal finisher.

With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus both injured as well, Arsenal have been missing a killer instinct up front that bared itself in their bore 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners will be closely looking at the striker market to future-proof their squad in this regard next season.

While Mikel Arteta has the Arsenal board’s full support, the Spaniard needs to deliver major trophies to the Emirates Stadium and for that, he needs a clinical goalscorer within his ranks.

Arsenal tried to sign Matheus Cunha but the move did not pan out as the Brazilian international signed a contract extension until 2029 at Wolves.

Martin Keown makes ‘Ronaldo-like’ claim about Arsenal striker target Matheus Cunha

As a result, Arsenal must pay £62.5 million to sign Cunha — which is how much the former Atletico Madrid striker’s release clause is worth.

Arsenal were willing to sign Cunha in January to the extent that a deal worth £45 million appealed to them.

But as Matheus Cunha has stayed at Wolves, he has made headlines for the right and wrong reasons. In his side’s latest defeat in the FA Cup against Bournemouth, Martin Keown compared Cunha’s stunning strike to a vintage Cristiano Ronaldo goal but also pinpointed his hot-headedness after a violent scuffle with Milos Kerkez led to the in-form marksman’s sending off.

Keown said on BBC Match of the Day: “The ability he has is top-level. The goal he scores today belongs not in the FA Cup, it belongs in the Champions League it’s that good.”

“Give him too much space and he does this and that’s Ronaldo-like. That’s top-level, absolutely top-drawer finish. Strikes right through the ball, beautiful, keeper isn’t getting anywhere near it.”

“Then suddenly, we see the ugly. Kerkez gets involved and then that’s a right, left, kick and a headbutt, it’s the three-card trick really.”

“I’ve not seen that on a football pitch since the 70s. He just cannot do that. He just lost it completely.
And worse still, they just could not get him out of the ground. In the end the cameras had to come away. This was the ugly part.”

Why Arsenal are unlikely to sign Matheus Cunha this summer

While Cunha will not be proud of his actions, what cannot be denied about him is the top-class season he is having at the Molineux Stadium.

Despite playing in a struggling Wolves team, the 25-year-old has shone.

This campaign, Cunha has 15 goals and four assists to his name across all competitions.

However, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Arsenal are unlikely to sign Cunha this summer as their priority is to sign a “proper number nine.”

“Matheus Cunha the Brazilian star of Wolves is doing very well this season.”

“He is on the list of several clubs, we know that Arsenal have had Matheus Cunha on their list for a long time, appreciated internally, a player that they really like, but they wanted to save a big amount of money for a different kind of player, a proper number nine in the summer.”

“Arsenal’s interest was there, but it was never something they were prepared to do in the January transfer window.”