Arsenal told SIX Prem strikers are all better than Havertz, including two from the same club

One observer still isn’t convinced by Kai Havertz in the striker position, with no fewer than SIX Premier League frontmen deemed superior options over the Arsenal man.

Havertz struggled during the early months following his £65m transfer from Chelsea to Arsenal. However, upon being tasked with leading the line in the second half of the 2023/24 season, the Germany international was a revelation.

Havertz was moved up top in February and in the final 16 matches of the campaign, returned figures of nine goals and six assists. The forward has chipped in with four goals in the Premier League this time around, with his tally across all competitions this term sitting at seven.

But while Havertz has clearly demonstrated he is capable of delivering end product, talkSPORT pundit Troy Deeney is far from convinced.

The former Watford talisman named six current Premier League strikers who in his mind, are all better than Havertz in the No 9 role.

First on Deeney’s list won’t surprise many, with the pundit declaring Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to be “head and shoulders” above every other striker in the division. However, eyebrows will certainly be raised at a few of Deeney’s other selections.

Aside from Haaland, Deeney declared Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool), Alexander Isak (Newcastle), Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran (both Aston Villa) are all superior strikers to Havertz.

Any truth to Deeney’s brutal Havertz claims?

Some of those selections are sure to spark debate, not least Darwin Nunez whose time at Anfield has been characterised by poor finishing and an inability to stay onside.

What’s more, when Diogo Jota was fit earlier this season it was the Portuguese who Arne Slot selected as his starter ahead of Nunez.

Duran, meanwhile, has enjoyed a fantastic start to the current campaign, though is not in Unai Emery’s strongest eleven. The Villa boss continues to operate with a lone striker and Watkins is his go-to man.

Explaining his reasoning for picking Jackson over Havertz, Deeney said: “I’m not sure whether he can stay onside, I know everyone’s going to say, ‘Oh he’s changed.’

“But the style of play has changed, he’s offside loads, he doesn’t score a lot of his chances. But when he scores, he scores in bunches.”

Few would argue against Newcastle ace Isak being a superior option to Havertz and that also appears to be the view within The Gunners.

Indeed, TEAMtalk can confirm Arsenal’s No 1 striker target for 2025 and beyond remains Isak.

The Swede is Arsenal’s ‘dream’ target and ticks every box they’re looking for in a frontman. We understand Isak could look favourably on leaving The Magpies for a club who regularly compete in the Champions League, though a transfer is likely to cost £100m at least.

Latest Arsenal news – Trossard, Sterling, Baena

In other news, Mail Plus report Arsenal are in talks with Leandro Trossard regarding a new contract.

The Belgian – who turns 30 next month – is in line to receive a ‘significant’ pay rise and remains a key cog for Arteta.

Elsewhere, former Premier League striker, Stan Collymore, has taken aim at Raheem Sterling and his dire stint at Arsenal so far.

“Raheem Sterling has been a massive disappointment,” Collymore told The Metro. “He came in and said he was going to give the club his best work, but that hasn’t happened.

“He’s arguably stunk the place out so far and he’s definitely one of the flops of the season having promised to do his best work at Arsenal. He’s an experienced player who has won everything there is to win, he was expected to push the dressing room up another level and he hasn’t done that.”

Finally, Arsenal have taken the first steps towards signing assist king, Alex Baena. The Gunners scouted the Villarreal attacker during Spain’s clash with Denmark last Friday in which Baena featured alongside Mikel Merino.

Baena led LaLiga with 14 assists last year and his deal at Villarreal contains a €60m release clause.

Havertz output since moving to No 9 (all competitions)