{"id":242971,"date":"2026-05-11T19:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/better-than-saka-berta-holds-talks-to-sign-104m-attacker-for-arsenal\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:45:13","slug":"better-than-saka-berta-holds-talks-to-sign-104m-attacker-for-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/better-than-saka-berta-holds-talks-to-sign-104m-attacker-for-arsenal\/","title":{"rendered":"Better than Saka: Berta holds talks to sign \u00a3104m attacker for Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

At a crucial point in the season, Arsenal<\/a>‘s forward line has begun to click again. It was imperative that they did.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Across a period of eight games starting with the Carabao Cup final and ending with the first leg draw with Atletico Madrid, the Gunners had failed to score more than one goal in a single game.<\/p>\n

Well, against Fulham last weekend, things began to change. Mikel Arteta<\/a> made some crucial tweaks to the team and it resulted in a 3-0 win over the Cottagers.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It was a performance that sparked fresh life into their campaign. They subsequently went five points clear at the top of the table last week and made it through to a first Champions League final in 20 years. It’s safe to say the momentum is back with Arsenal in the race for the title.<\/p>\n

Despite an upturn in form, it should not distract the Gunners hierarchy from spending big on a new forward this summer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n How Arsenal could strengthen their forward line<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

The general consensus heading into this summer is that Andrea Berta and Co will likely look at bolstering the left flank.<\/p>\n

That has been the main problem position this season with Gabriel Martinelli having scored just once all season in the Premier League<\/a>. Until bagging the vital winner against West Ham on Sunday evening, Leandro Trossard had not found the net in his last 25 games either.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Trossard-Arsenal\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

As a result, players like PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia<\/a> and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon both have reported interest<\/a> from the red side of north London.<\/p>\n

The Gunners are also considering a new centre-forward and while that one feels unlikely, there could be a major opportunity to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.<\/p>\n

\n


\n \"Arsenal<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tArsenal’s most expensive signings of all time
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h5>\n

The Gunners have spent generously in recent years. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

That’s because Atleti star Julian Alvarez<\/a> may well be on the market. Speaking ahead of their clash with Arsenal last month, Diego Simeone actually seemed to reveal that the Gunners were interested.<\/p>\n

“I understand that it’s normal that an extraordinary player like Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez is wanted by Arsenal, PSG and Barcelona,” the Argentine said.<\/p>\n

Well, according to reports in Spain<\/a>, the Londoners have already approached the player’s camp over a potential move.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Julian\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s noted that Alvarez wants to leave the Spanish capital behind, and as a result, his representatives have held talks with not just Barcelona but also Arsenal.<\/p>\n

That said, no club-to-club talks have officially begun and it will take ‘a lot of money’ to prise him away from Atletico. Previous reports have outlined it could well be a fee of around \u00a3104m<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Why Alvarez could replace Saka as Arsenal’s best attacker<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

The burden that Bukayo Saka has felt as Arsenal’s chief goalscorer and supply line in recent years has been extraordinary. He’s always been the go-to man since Arteta arrived, so much so that only four players have featured in more Premier League games before the age of 23 as he has.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Most PL games before turning 23<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Player<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Games played<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

1) Wayne Rooney<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

201<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2) Cesc Fabregas<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

187<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

3) James Milner<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

187<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

4) Bukayo Saka<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

173<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

5) Gareth Barry<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

173<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

6) Raheem Sterling<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

172<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

Now aged 24, there was a fear that after a nasty hamstring injury last term, his powers were waning. Indeed, 2025\/26 has been filled with not only fitness-related issues for the club’s number 7 but also struggles for form.<\/p>\n

Between 3rd December and 25th March, the wide man only scored two Premier League goals. That said, he has come back to life over the last week, not only scoring and assisting against Fulham but also finding the net against Atletico, scoring the crucial goal to take Arsenal into the final.<\/p>\n

It was always going to be Saka who scored. Since Arteta came in, no player has scored more goals (78), registered more assists (76) or played more games (290) than the Englishman.<\/p>\n

Yet, by bringing in Alvarez, the burden of carrying Arsenal’s attack could be lifted from Saka’s shoulders. In fact, by welcoming the former Manchester City man back to English football, they could even bring in a more ruthless and more efficient attacker than the England international.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Julian-Alvarez-timeless-stats\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

While the Argentine did not exactly set the world alight during the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, subbed early by Simeone, he has showcased over a sustained period of time now that, like Saka, he can deliver regular goals and assists.<\/p>\n

It was not long ago that Roy Nemer celebrated the 26-year-old as the “best centre forward in the world”. Sure, he might play in a different position to Arsenal’s poster boy, but this is a player who has scored 17 or more goals in each of his last six seasons. He’s only been getting better in recent years too, scoring 29 times in his debut campaign with Atleti. This season, he’s hit the 20-goal landmark once again.<\/p>\n

So, it’s pretty evident he’s a better scorer than Saka. He has 126 goals to his name since the 2021 South American season, when he was still at River Plate.<\/p>\n

However, he has also proven he can create, just as Saka can. In the forward’s final campaign with City, Alvarez picked up 13 assists. For context, Arsenal’s main man has only bettered that seasonal tally once, when he supplied 14 assists in 2023\/24. It’s easy to see why the producer behind Argentina’s World Cup documentary, Pablo Gonzalez<\/a>, described him as a “monster”.<\/p>\n

As a result, if you could pair the two together, it would certainly improve Arsenal’s forward line. Gyokeres may well have improved in recent months but Alvarez is far superior in his overall play.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"julian-alvarez-atletico-madrid\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It may well be bad news for the Swede if he joined, but there have been multiple points in the season where Arsenal have needed an upgrade on every player in their attack and that includes Saka. Alvertz would be precisely that.<\/p>\n

\n


\n \"Raya-Arsenal-Rice\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tSaved by Raya & Trossard: Arsenal’s new Xhaka must not start again this season
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h5>\n

David Raya and Leandro Trossard were the heroes as Arsenal beat West Ham 1-0.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At a crucial point in the season, Arsenal‘s forward line has begun to click again. It was imperative that they did. Across a period of eight games starting with the Carabao Cup final and ending with the first leg draw with Atletico Madrid, the Gunners had failed to score more than one goal in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6808],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-242971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}