Darwin Nunez’s disappointing spell at Liverpool must serve as a cautionary tale to other clubs across Europe about being mindful when making big-money outlays in the transfer market.
When the Uruguayan signed for Jurgen Klopp’s side in 2022, his reputation was sky-high as the 25-year-old had dispatched an impressive 34 goals in all competitions for Benfica.
Almost three seasons in, Liverpool are ready to sell Nunez — who has scored just 25 goals in the Premier League and just seven in all competitions this season as well.
| STATS IN ALL COMPETITIONS THIS SEASON | DARWIN NUNEZ |
| STARTS | 17 |
| GOALS | 7 |
| ASSISTS | 7 |
Arsenal are in the market to sign a striker themselves and while Viktor Gyokeres has caught Andrea Berta’s eye, the Emirates faithful will be hoping he does not pan out like the Liverpool forward.
Reviewing the Gunners’ latest 2-2 draw against the Reds, Ian Wright now has a word of advice for his former club.
Ian Wright says Arsenal ‘can’t afford’ to sign the wrong striker like Darwin Nunez
Following on from Michael Owen emphasising that Arsenal need to sign a striker, Ian Wright agreed with the former Liverpool goalscorer.
However, Wright made it a point to state that Mikel Arteta’s side cannot afford to bring the wrong man in, like Liverpool did by signing Darwin Nunez and Manchester United also did by snapping Rasmus Hojlund up.
Ian Wright told Premier League Productions: “You look at Hojlund, he had nine goals for Atalanta.”
“The money they paid for him is again, you’re taking a chance on potential. Look at Darwin Nunez, exactly, £85 (million). I’m not sure if Arsenal can afford to go in and get it wrong like that.”
“You look at it and you say, ‘Yes, we desperately need a striker.’ We need a kind of striker who will come in and score because we can’t do a Hojlund or a Darwin Nunez.”
Four strikers who have impressed Arsenal apart from Viktor Gyokeres
If Arsenal end up signing a number nine who ends up struggling like Nunez has, Ian Wright along with other supporters might start to lose faith in Mikel Arteta’s project.
Andrea Berta’s job is to make sure he does his bit on the recruitment side of things and leave Arteta to tactically and mentally prepare the side.
The strikers who have impressed Berta’s scouts apart from Gyokeres are Victor Osimhen, Jonathan David and Hugo Ekitike as Arsenal have been assessing a nine-man shortlist.
However, Arsenal are keen on signing Benjamin Sesko as well this summer.
What is clear to see is that Andrea Berta is assessing all avenues to improve Arsenal’s forward line in the summer and based on how much research his team seem to be doing, the signs look positive for now.
