Pundit ‘surprised’ Arsenal are not bidding for £19m ace and backs Newcastle move

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Former Premier League winner Chris Sutton is ‘surprised’ that Arsenal have not made a move for Dominic Solanke while insisting a move to Newcastle United would be ‘excellent’ for the AFC Bournemouth striker.

Only two players – Erling Haaland and Mo Salah – have scored more than Dominic Solanke’s 12 Premier League goals so far in 2023/24.

That is the sort of company the late-blooming centre-forward keeps these days, Solanke blossoming from one of the division’s more underrated attackers into an A-list top-flight operator thanks in part to Andoni Iraola’s free-flowing attacking approach.

And, with Arsenal arguably an elite number nine short of a serious assault on the Premier League title, Sutton cannot understand why the Gunners would not take a stab at a man who has scored more goals than Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus combined this term.

Arsenal need a striker

“I know Arsenal have got this FFP issue and what have you, whether they can spend big money,” Sutton, a Premier. League champion with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, says on the Daily Mail’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast.

“But I’m surprised Arsenal haven’t made some sort of move for him.”

HITC Football understands that is unlikely to change, Bournemouth making it clear that Solanke is going nowhere this month.

The £19 million signing from Liverpool scored twice in a 2-0 win over Newcastle in November, and Sutton feels that Eddie Howe’s side could do a lot worse than to install Solanke on their list of attacking targets too.

Solanke has 12 league goals in 19 starts

“That would be an excellent move,” the former Celtic, Aston Villa and Norwich man adds.

“A lot of competition for places already, you could say, in that striking position with (Alexander) Isak and (Callum) Wilson. Whether Solanke is an upgrade or not, he’s a player who I rate highly. Especially this season, the more I’ve seen of him.

“I think he’s finding himself. He knows his game now. You could have questioned his goalscoring record in the past but, at this moment in time, I think that Newcastle are right to go for him.”