Find out here if English Premier League side Arsenal will sign a new number 9 this summer, and if so, who that might be.
English Premier League title contenders Arsenal had a relatively quiet January 2025 transfer window and failed to splash the cash and make any big signings, which begs the question, which number 9 will Arsenal sign in the summer transfer window? Let’s dive in to find out.
Why does Arsenal need a number 9?
Despite sitting in second place in the English Premier League, many argue that Arsenal must sign a reliable number 9 (striker/centre-forward) who can regularly score goals if they want to win the league. Their current strikers/forwards aren’t scoring as many goals as they should be, although they have still only scored 7 goals less than league leaders Liverpool.
Liverpool have scored 56 goals in 23 games, compared to Arsenal’s 49 goals in 24 games. Third-place Nottingham Forest have scored 40 goals in 24 games. Fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Manchester City, who have also both played 24 games this season, have scored 47 and 48 goals, respectively.
Kai Havertz is the leading goal scorer for Arsenal but has only managed to find the back of the net on 9 separate occasions, whereas Gabriel Martinelli has scored 6 goals, and Bukayo Saka has scored just 5 this season. Havertz is a good striker, but the thing is that he isn’t a long-term option, which is why they must look for someone to replace him sooner rather than later.
In other words, Arsenal must consider parting ways with one or two of these players and sign either a new number 9 or two other attacking forwards or midfielders.
Which number 9 could Arsenal sign in the summer transfer window?
According to reports, Arsenal were interested in trying to pry Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins away for a cool £40,000,000, but the deal never materialised. Five other players who could potentially fill the spot include the following:
- Player: Benjamin Sesko. Current team: RB Leipzig
- Player: Alexander Isak. Current team: Newcastle United
- Player: Victor Osimhen. Current team: Napoli
- Player: Viktor Gyokeres. Current team: Sporting
- Player: Lautaro Martinez. Current team: Inter Milan
According to the latest reports in February 2025, Arsenal are preparing to launch a mouth-watering €120,000,000 to secure the services of number five on this list, Lautaro Martinez.
Can Arsenal win the league this year?
South Africans betting on Arsenal before the end of the current 24/25 campaign can turn to trusted iGaming sites like 10bet for the latest and most highly competitive English Premier League odds.
As it stands, Arsenal are currently the second odds-on favourite team to win the 2024/25 English Premier League campaign outright. Here’s what the latest odds look like for the top five odds-on favourite teams:
- Market: 224/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Liverpool. Odds: 1.25 or 1/4 (fractional or decimal). Chance of winning: 80.00%
- Market: 224/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Arsenal. Odds: 4.50 or 7/2 (fractional or decimal). Chance of winning: 22.20%
- Market: 224/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Chelsea. Odds: 101.00 or 100/1 (fractional or decimal). Chance of winning: 1.00%
- Market: 224/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Nottingham Forest. Odds: 101.00 or 100/1 (fractional or decimal). Chance of winning: 1.00%
- Market: 224/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Manchester City. Odds: 101.00 or 100/1 (fractional or decimal). Chance of winning: 1.00%
In other words, it’s unlikely that Arsenal will catch up to Liverpool, but anything is possible, and Arsenal fans will be more than happy with these latest odds, especially as a value bet.
Don’t forget that the clear odds-on favourites aren’t always guaranteed to win and that these odds are subject to change at any time.
Upcoming fixtures
On Saturday, February 15, Arsenal travel away to play Leicester in the league before returning for a home game against West Ham on February 22. Some of their other upcoming fixtures over the coming weeks are against Nottingham Forest (away), Manchester United (away), Chelsea (home), and Fulham (home).
Final thoughts
If Arsenal want to win the league next year, they will have to sign a big-named forward in the summer transfer window, and based on the latest rumours, that player could very well be Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez. However, we will just have to wait and see what happens over the coming months.
On a final note, if you live in South Africa and decide to place any bets online on the remaining EPL fixtures, stick to betting on trusted South African iGaming sites, such as 10Bet, which specifically caters to the South African market.
Remember to do plenty of research into an event before betting, and stay on top of the latest news and gossip. Consider setting a sensible spending budget before depositing and betting, and remember to place strategic bets with low odds and high implied probability rates.
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