I wish we had a player like Darwin Nunez at Arsenal - I'd love to see him with us

Viktor Gyokeres is Europe’s in-form striker at the moment. The 26-year-old has scored 23 goals in just 18 appearances for Sporting Lisbon, taking his overall total for the club to 66 goals from 68 appearances since joining from Coventry City in an initial €20m deal.

Throw in his goals for Sweden this season and he has 28 goals from 23 appearances. And unsurprisingly he continues to be linked with a big-money move to the Premier League as a result.

With Ruben Amorim having now left Sporting to take over as Manchester United head coach, Gyokeres is inevitably being heavily mooted with a switch to Old Trafford. However, he is set to see out the season in Portugal before making a decision about his future.

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The likes of Arsenal also continue to be linked with the Swede, with the Gunners’ lack of a prolific striker contributing to them falling short in the Premier League title-race in recent years.

Having finished second behind Man City in the last two seasons, they already find themselves nine points behind Liverpool after just 11 matches played.

Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere, who was a member of their ‘Invincibles’ squad in 2003/04, is very much of the opinion that his former club need an out-and-out striker rather than relying on Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard.

But while Gyokeres fits the profile of centre-forward he would like to see at the Emirates, he actually has a different striker in mind as his dream target - Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez!

The Uruguayan has endured an up-and-down Reds career to date, finding himself in and out of the starting XI as he struggled with consistency. An £85m signing from Benfica in the summer of 2022, this has prompted him to be linked with a premature move away from Anfield in the past, with both Arsenal and Chelsea tipped as possible suitors.

Boasting 36 goals for Liverpool from 110 appearances, with three of his strikes coming this season, Nunez has been criticised for his finishing in the past. But that does not concern Aliadiere, with the Frenchman in awe of the 25-year-old’s all-round game.

“I know he is at Liverpool but I am a massive fan of Darwin Nunez,” he told Football365. “Absolutely mad fan of the guy because I love his work ethic, his runs, his determination.

“I wish we had a player like him at Arsenal. I remember in the summer there were some talks about him coming to Arsenal. That excited me because I’d love to see him with us.

“That type of player, keeps bothering defenders, making runs in behind, stretching the defence, even though it’s not for him, it’s for the team, the others get massive rewards from it.

“I know people will say he needs five chances to score sometimes, he is not the best finisher, I am not bothered about this. For me, the effort and the work rate and the drama that he causes is worth everything.”

Aliadiere had been asked about Gyokeres when sharing his admiration of Nunez unprompted, having already rued Arsenal’s lack of a natural number nine.

“Yeah, definitely. He is that type of player,” he said of the Swede. “Havertz is not a natural number nine.

“He’s doing a fantastic job but over a full season, Champions League, Premier League, and we have seen it lately when Arsenal have struggled more and it has been more difficult, (Gabriel) Jesus could be the answer.

“He is not a typical number nine; he likes to come and get involved, get the ball, get involved in the build-up. I am not sure that is the answer.

“For me, a number nine is someone who is going to run behind, stretch the team out for the tricky player to come and build the game.

“Arsenal have lost that number nine, running in behind, I don’t think they have anyone capable of doing that regularly.”

He continued: “It is good to have both (kinds of strikers). This season, teams have sussed Arsenal out.

“They know how we play, they know the left-back comes into centre-midfield and we play a certain way. I feel teams have worked it out and know how to play against us.

“We are not dominating or battering teams like we did last year. I know we did not end up winning the Premier League but last year we were battering teams. Now we are winning games but it is never easy, we are grinding results sometimes and you have got to do this over the season to win the Premier League.

“When it doesn’t work out, have you got a Plan B? Taking Havertz off for Trossard is not a Plan B for me. Same personnel, same way of playing and it isn’t going to change much, it’s just maybe Trossard might be on a better day today and might create something better than Havertz on the day.

“But it isn’t really a Plan B in terms of changing things around. Maybe we do need a number nine.”

Aliadiere isn’t the first former Premier League striker to pine after Nunez, having seen their own old club falter in front of goal in contrast to Liverpool.

Manchester United favourite Dwight Yorke has recently shared his own desire to see the Uruguayan at Old Trafford - despite the Red Devils’ bitter rivalry with the Reds.

“If I could sign anyone to come in at number nine for Manchester United, then I would try and nick Darwin Nunez off Liverpool,” he told SafestCasinoSites.co.uk. “I know people may scoff at that suggestion, he’s a little bit out of form, and people give him stick, but I’m convinced that there is a monster of a player in there that is waiting to come out.

"He's got a presence; he's got something nasty about him and I think he’s a real handful. Manchester United need a player who can act as that focal point and give them that presence on the pitch. They need someone with Darwin Nunez’s physical attributes.

"He’s somebody I would try to poach. If I'm looking for a number nine right now, I would take a chance with this guy. Ollie Watkins is a great striker, but I think United need someone with a bit more of a physical presence up top. I’m convinced that if you played him week-in, week-out, he would start ripping up the Premier League."