Pundit believes ‘aggressive’ Newcastle United player is ‘someone Arsenal would be very happy to have’

Arsenal fell shy of the Premier League title last season after failing to keep their lead over Manchester City. Mikel Arteta’s mission for this campaign will certainly be to challenge for the trophy once again but they will also be competing with Newcastle United for a top four spot.

Since the transfer window opened, Arsenal have been working hard on tightening the screws in their squad. The Magpies have also recruited well this window, adding to the impressive haul from last summer.

Pundits have been discussing Arsenal’s chances of toppling City for the title this season and ex-midfielder Emmanuel Petit has had his say on his former side’s form so far. He also gave an interesting take on their attacking options and believes Newcastle’s Alexander Isak could be a smart signing for Arteta next, as Arsenal could benefit from a multi-scoring striker.

“Alexander Isak is tall, aggressive and has great technique. He wants to score every time he gets the ball but he needs to be more precise in his game,” Petit told bettingsites.co.uk. “Physically and technically, he has a huge presence on the pitch. If one day someone can tell me that he plays like Thierry Henry, maybe I will believe them, but for the moment it’s really too soon to say that.

“He’s a good striker and he’s someone that Arsenal would be very happy to have because he brings different qualities. [Gabriel] Jesus and [Eddie] Nketiah play in a similar way, they are different in terms of movement, but physically, technically and in their finishing they are not far apart.”

The former Arsenal and Chelsea star also discussed the Gunners’ performance against Crystal Palace. It ended with a narrow 1-0 win after Martin Ødegaard scored the winner from the penalty spot.

“I was upset by Nketiah’s finishing against Crystal Palace,” Petit continued. “He had two good chances, and Arsenal need to have a striker that can score 30 goals in all competitions throughout the season, it’s something missing at Arsenal if they want to improve.

“Isak is a very good striker and finished very well in the second half of the season last year after being injured. He started well this year again. If he can avoid being injured, because it’s been a problem since he arrived, we will see his real qualities.”