Arsenal insider Charles Watts has urged Arsenal to sign Newcastle United star Alexander Isak instead of Dutch-Nigerian striker Joshua Zirkzee.
The current Premier League table-toppers want to sign a new center forward this summer and have been heavily linked with Zirkzee as a result.
The Bologna ace has caught the attention of the Gunners who are reportedly ready to submit a £51m bid for his signature in order to beat other interested clubs to his services.
Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus are the two other prominent clubs linked with the Bayern Munich Academy product but they face stiff competition from Arsenal.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside through his Daily Briefing, Watts is not convinced about the 22-year-old and believes the north London side will be better off with Isak.
“There’s a long list of strikers who have been linked to Arsenal ahead of the summer window,” Watts said.
“Some are real big hitters, such as Alexander Isak at Newcastle and Victor Osimhen at Napoli, but there are some who are slightly less well known, with Joshua Zirkzee at Bologna one of those.
“He’s a forward Arsenal have been keeping tabs on according to some well sourced reports.
“Arsenal’s interest in Zirkzee was first broken back in January by Sam Dean at the Daily Telegraph and it’s a link that continues to bubble away as we head towards the summer.
“He’s an interesting player, one who looks destined for a big move soon.”
He added: “I can’t pretend to be an expert on him, he’s not someone I’ve seen a lot of, but he’s clearly got a lot of potential and would add something to Arsenal’s squad that they don’t really have in attack.
“Whether he would move the needle enough for Arsenal though at this point I’m not sure.
“I feel Arsenal are at a point now where any big money signings really need to come in and improve the squad immediately and I’m not sure Zirkzee does that.
“It would be a case of buying potential and while there is always room for that, Arsenal really need a forward who will come in and hit the ground running.
“That’s why I still feel they should throw everything at getting Isak out of Newcastle.”
Isak has been one of the outstanding forwards in the Premier League this season, scoring 20 goals in 27 games which makes him the third top scorer in the division.
Only Chelsea’s Cole Palmer with 21 goals and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who has grabbed 25 goals have scored more than the Newcastle striker.
In contrast, Zirkzee has scored 11 goals in the Serie A this term which is miles off the league top scorer Lautaro Martínez, who has found the back of the net 23 times.
