Newcastle United were joining Arsenal in the Champions League 12 months ago.
But now Newcastle are preparing for a campaign without Europe, as the elite teams in the Premier League push away from them.
One thing Eddie Howe has at Newcastle over Arsenal is the fact that they have an established centre-forward on their books.
Alexander Isak is one of the best strikers in the business, and if it wasn’t for Manchester City’s goal machine Erling Halland, then he would probably be considered the best in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old scored an incredible 21 league goals last term from 30 matches – and he only completed 90 minutes on 14 occasions.
Arsenal were beaten to the Premier League title by Manchester City on the last day of the previous campaign.
And it’s fair to say that if they had a player of Isak’s goalscoring skill set on their books, then they would probably be champions.
Eddie Howe has urged Newcastle to hand a new contract to Isak, as transfer interest ramps up for the Sweden international.
Perry Groves stated that Arsenal ‘need a centre-forward’ as they look to iron out those finer details to dethrone the might of Manchester City from the top.
The former Highbury hero stated that Isak ‘fits the mould’ at the Emirates, but he just can’t see Newcastle letting him go, as he told talkSPORT (23/07/24 at 1:45 pm).
But Groves did make it clear that ‘Mikel Arteta will be putting Edu under pressure’ this summer to get deals done.
Alexander Isak at Arsenal
“I still think we need a centre-forward,” said Groves. “There were so many times when we got the ball into the box and the six-yard box, you think ‘that’s where you need your archetypal type of centre-forward’.
“Isak fits that mould, but Newcastle aren’t going to let him go. He isn’t coming out of Newcastle.
“It will be interesting because Arteta will put Edu under pressure.”
New signing arriving at Arsenal
It remains to be seen if that striker arrives, but one thing is for sure, Arsenal are going to bulk up their defence.
Sources have told HITC that Arsenal have booked a medical for Riccardo Calafiori ahead of his transfer.
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That will ensure the team remains the strongest defence in the league, with Arteta under huge pressure to now deliver.
But Steve Nicol was stunned by what Arteta was saying in pre-season for Arsenal, with the manager discussing his squad ahead of the new season.
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