Former Arsenal player Mikael Silvestre is weighing the suitability of Nigeria international Victor Osimhen while comparing the Napoli star with Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus.
Silvestre recently suggested that he doesn’t see the Nigerian striker as an upgrade to Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus has faced criticism for his goal-scoring record at Arsenal, with the Brazilian acknowledging that scoring goals is not one of his strongest attributes.
Calls for Arsenal to bring in a new number nine have increased, and Osimhen has emerged as one of their targets, especially after the Nigerian indicated his departure from Napoli in the summer. Ivan Toney is another striker under consideration by Arsenal.
However, Silvestre is not entirely convinced that signing Osimhen would represent an upgrade on Jesus.
He said, as quoted by The Sun:
“Osimhen, also a top player. Maybe a little bit more pragmatic in front of goal than Gabriel Jesus. I don’t think he’d necessarily be an upgrade.
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He’s a different type of player [than Jesus]. Osimhen doesn’t drift as wide as Jesus.
You always want your No9 to score as many goals as possible but he’s [Jesus] contributing to Arsenal’s attack in different ways.
His movement, dragging defenders out of position and he’s making a lot of runs behind, stretching the block. He’s a key player for Arsenal’s success.”
Osimhen is one of the deadliest strikers in world football and will do well in many teams.
However, the Nigerian could struggle in England because he has never played in the Premier League.