There is no getting away from it; this season is starting to fall apart for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta's side came into the campaign with the ambition of finally winning the Premier League at the third time of asking, but after failing to win any of their previous four games in the competition, that goal is looking somewhat unrealistic.

The Gunners have been notably more porous at the back, as evidenced by the fact they've already conceded 41% of the goals they did last year, and their attack has been just as underwhelming as six teams are currently outscoring them.

In short, things aren't looking great, but as we all know, the right players can make all the difference, and based on recent reports, the club could be set to land one of the most potent strikers in world football to challenge Kai Havertz, and no, it's not Viktor Gyokeres.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Turkish newspaper Sabah via the Daily Cannon, Arsenal have made contact with Napoli over the potential signing of striker Victor Osimhen.

The report claims that, alongside the Gunners, several clubs, including Chelsea, Newcastle United and Al Hilal, have all spoken to the Italian giants about the Nigerian's availability next year.

While interest from so many top sides is far from ideal, the good news is that, according to the story, Fenerbahçe Sporting Director was quoted a price of €75m - £63m - by the Neapolitan's own Sporting Director, Giovanni Manna, for the sensational forward, and that the Serie A side will sit at the table with the club that offers €25m upfront, which is about £21m.

This transfer would still represent a significant investment from Arsenal, but given Osimhen's form of late and the club's need for a proven goalscorer, one well worth making, even if it's bad news for Havertz and ends the chance of signing Gyokeres as well.

How Osimhen compares to Havertz

Okay, so before we get to why Osimhen would be an upgrade on the Gunners' current starting striker, let's look at one of the key reasons why he may well be a smarter signing than the other forward heavily touted for a move to the Emirates during the summer, Gyokeres.

Now, as the pair have both proven their goalscoring chops over the last few seasons, the Napoli ace's main advantage over the Swede is experience.

Unlike the former Coventry City star, he has proven himself capable of playing in a top-five league, and not only that, but leading a sleeping giant to their first league title in decades - sound familiar?.

The Sporting CP star may well be able to do that as well, but until we have seen it, there will always be an element of doubt, doubt that does not hang over the Nigerian phenomenon.

With that said, how does the "world-class" marksman, as dubbed by José Mourinho, stack up to Havertz then? Unfortunately for the former Chelsea ace, it's not a particularly close contest.

For example, from the start of the 22/23 campaign, the Serie A winner has scored 56 goals and provided 13 assists in just 80 club appearances, meaning he's maintained an outrageous average of a goal involvement every 1.15 games.

In contrast, the North Londoners' midfielder-turned-centre-forward has found the back of the net on 30 occasions and provided nine assists in 115 appearances, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.94 games.

Moreover, even if we look exclusively at the German's 32 appearances as a striker for Arteta's side, his tally of 13 goals and eight assists still comes out at a worse average of a goal involvement every 1.52 games.

Ultimately, if Arsenal want to win the league this season or the next, they are going to need to find a genuinely elite centre-forward to lead the line for them, and while Havertz has been a useful player for them and still could be in the future, he is notably less effective in front of goal than Osimhen is.

Therefore, Arteta and Co should do all they can to bring the Nigerian superstar to the Emirates in 2025 before someone else beats them.