Arsenal lost to Bournemouth at the weekend, and, once again, the Gunners’ lack of a striker was a big talking point.
Arsenal will sign a new striker this summer, and Alexander Isak has been linked to the Gunners.
On Saturday, Bournemouth’s number nine was the difference as Evanilson scored the winning goal.
Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, Joe Cole has been discussing Evanilson’s performance vs Arsenal, and he reckons the Brazilian would be brilliant for Arsenal.
Indeed, Cole went as far as to say the £40m man would be a Golden Boot contender if he played for the Gunners.
Joe Cole says Evanilson could win the Golden Boot at Arsenal
Cole spoke about Evanilson and how he would get on in this Arsenal team.
The pundit reckons the Bournemouth striker would be incredible for Arsenal, claiming that he would compete for the Golden Boot.
“Yeah. I think he’s one of them strikers. If you put him in the Arsenal team, I’m saying he’s going to be competing for Golden Boot,” Cole said.
“Because when they start the season, they didn’t go with a striker, Arsenal, right? They’ve fallen away. It’s been a bad season for them in the league, right?
“I think the club will admit that. And then when I was getting a lot of people saying, they ain’t got a striker, and it’s almost like they’re just waiting for the perfect one. Why did you not go out and try and make a bid on Evanilson?
“Put it this way. If Evanilson was at Arsenal, if they signed him, right, and he was expensive, they’re a stronger squad straight away.”
“Straight away, I reckon that’s adding at least 10 more goals on it, and that’s probably seven or eight points. The league will be closer, and you don’t know what can happen. I think they missed a trick with this kid.”
Evanilson stats for Porto
Cole says Evanilson would compete for the Golden Boot if he was at Arsenal, but his previous goalscoring record doesn’t quite back that up.
Indeed, Evanilson has played for a dominant team that create tons of chances in the past.
In fact, Evanilson even won a league title with Porto back in 2022.
However, throughout that period, Evanilson wasn’t the most potent striker in Portugal.
| Evanilson Liga Portuguesa stats | |
| Games | 96 |
| Goals | 37 |
| Assists | 14 |
Compare that to a player like Viktor Gyokeres, who has been linked to Arsenal, and you can see that Evanilson isn’t necessarily the answer to all of Arsenal’s attacking prayers.
| Viktor Gyokeres Liga Portuguesa stats | |
| Games | 64 |
| Goals | 67 |
| Assists | 16 |
Evanilson is a good player, hence why Nottingham Forest are interested in him, but if Arsenal want to kick up a gear, they may want to aim a bit higher than the Bournemouth ace.
