TODAY TOP TRANSFER 》Arsenal plotting move for £28m “serial winner” who’s similar to Saka

Arsenal’s title hopes suffered yet another setback on Saturday evening, held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion.

Mikel Arteta’s team started a Premier League game without any of Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard or Kai Havertz, three of last season’s four highest scorers, for the first time since the German joined the club, and one could tell, with the Gunners lacking attacking cutting edge throughout.

Last season, Arsenal scored 91 goals in the Premier League, their most in a single league campaign since the title-winning campaign of 1952/53, while they became the first team in English top-flight history to score 5+ times in six separate away league games in a calendar year during 2024, surpassing the previous record held by Sunderland in 1892 and Manchester City in 1937 of five.

However, the Gunners have scored either zero or one goal in nine of their 20 league matches so far this season, for context, run-away league leaders Liverpool have done so just twice, underlining that attacking reinforcements are required in January, especially considering their star man Saka is set to be sidelined for “more than two months”.

Arsenal chasing Bundesliga winger

With Saka out for some time and Ethan Nwaneri – who found the net against Brighton last Saturday – set to spend time on the sidelines with a muscular problem – it calls for recruits this winter.

Indeed, according to a report by Connor Humm for Football Insider, Arsenal have set their sights on Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman.

Valued at £28m by Football Transfers, the French winger is currently under contract in Munich until June 2027.

How Kingsley Coman compares to Bukayo Saka

Labelled as a “serial winner” by European football expert Zach Lowy on Twitter, with the winger winning the league title during the first 11 seasons of his senior career, two with Paris Saint-Germain, one with Juventus and eight at Bayern Munich, this could be a move that finally helps Arsenal get over the line themselves.

No player has won the title in four of Europe’s “big five” leagues, a fact Gooners will hope changes should Coman make the switch to North London this month.

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Any wide-player Arsenal are able to sign in the January window will be tasked with replicating what Saka produces, which certainly will not be easy for anyone, but how do Coman and Saka compare?

Well, the England international blows him out of the water for goal involvements but there are some attributes where they are alike, with FBRef’s ‘similar players’ feature suggesting that Saka is one of the most similar players in Europe’s top five leagues to the Bayern forward.

Kingsley Coman vs Bukayo Saka (22/23-24/25)

Statistic

Coman

Saka

Appearances

96

144

Minutes

5,488

11,085

Goals

21

49

Assists

13

41

Shots

169

323

Goals – xG

+5.1

+9.2

Shot-creating actions per 90

5.18

5.09

Goal-creating actions per 90

0.50

0.80

Successful take-on %

49.8%

41.5%

Progressive carries per 90

5.95

5.00

Progressive passes per 90

4.78

3.50

Statistics courtesy of FBref.com

Since August 2022, Saka has played twice the amount of minutes Coman has, with the Englishman having accumulated more goals and assists, as well as a frighteningly impressive goals – xG figure of +9.2.

However, no one Arsenal will be able to get their hands on in January will be as good as Saka, but Coman’s numbers do suggest he could be a more than useful edition.

The Frenchman has been successful with almost half of his attempted take-ons during this large sample size, something Gabriel Martinelli has been widely criticised for not doing anymore, so Coman’s high-quality dribbling ability – which actually sees him register more progressive carries per 90 than Saka – could add an extra dimension to the Gunners’ attack.

He has also scored an impressive number of goals, bagging four this season in just 885 minutes on the field for Bayern, so while Coman is unlikely to be Arteta’s dream, long-term solution, he could be a much-needed edition this month.