Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have all spent heavily on strengthening their forward line this summer, but there are still some opportunities yet
Tom Victor has been part of the Miller Sports Team since 2021. He reports on a variety of topics, focusing primarily on football. Tom previously wrote for BBC Sports, Nominee List, For Fortress and others, and is based in London.
The upcoming Premier League season begins with a summer of offensive spending. Champions Liverpool are busy in the market as they aim to win their first back-to-back league title in their Premier League days, but they are not alone.
But they’re not the only ones. Just as Arne Slot’s team strengthened, their rivals adopted to strengthen the front line.
Slots only added Federico Chiesa to his team last summer, and Joshua Zilky was Manchester United’s only offensive recruit. Arsenal didn’t add any new forwards in the summer of 2024 and was forced to move midfielder Mikel Merino into an unfamiliar No. 9 role when injured.
But this year, it’s all a change. Liverpool, United and Arsenal all added at least two new faces to the front, while Chelsea and Aston Villa have also had new options up front.
So, which one looks the strongest: Liverpool, United or Arsenal? Miller Football compared the three club options to a new campaign just a week away.
read more: Transfer News Live: Benjamin Sesco Timeline, Arsenal Iron Contract, Alexander Isaac’s latestread more: Benjamin Sesco has the chance to land the Dream Man UTD shirt number after the decision of Reuben Amorim
Liverpool
Liverpool was the best scorer in the Premier League last season, earning at least 14 more than any other club. A major overhaul of the attack doesn’t sound like an obvious next move, but for a reason.
Diogo Jota’s tragic death may have forced Liverpool to think differently about their frontlines, but there was already a reason to start considering tweaks. Mohamed Sarah scored the top score with 29 goals in the league last season, but he won just two nets in his final nine matches, missing out on this term at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The record signed with Florian Wirtz and the versatile Hugo Ekitike will bolster the forefront, including Salah and Cody Gakpo, even if Wirtz is not an out-and-out goal getter, but Chiesa wants a full seasonal contribution behind him. Lewis Diaz is a bigger loss than Darwin Nunes, but the Reds appear to be well aligned in a wide-ranging advance role, with slots referring to the ability of fullback Jeremy Fripon, who will run as a right-winger in Sarah’s future absence.
The big question is about Alexander Isaac. New bids for Newcastle strikers could arrive before the end of the window, and there is a debate that if the frontlines currently comparable to United and Arsenal join this month, they will be comfortable promoted to the best bunch.
Manchester United
United scored just 44 league goals last season, and Everton was the only team that kept up, finding the net often. The case of reinforcements in advance was clear, with Reuben Amorim and the club’s transfer manager working early.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo arrived early and combined them with their Premier League experience with strong goal returns from the previous term. There’s a lot made from pairs that over-perform XG numbers, but if they can get closer to the 35 they scored during their final semester, United will laugh.
The imminent arrival of Benjamin Sesco will raise United’s offensive spending to around £200 million. He arrives without Premier League pedigree, but hopes to make more contributions than Rasmus Hozilund managed last year.
Hojlund can still stick, but Zirkzee remains a rotation option, while Antony, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho are tilted to chase Marcus Rashford forever or on loan. United have solid options on paper, but getting a new front 3 from gel represents the biggest challenge.
Arsenal
Arsenal scored 91 goals in the 2023-24 season, which was given as a justification for his transfer policy last summer. But when injuries were hit, they were always at risk, but that did so in the final semester in a big way.
Mikel Arteta wants to think that at various points in the season, there are no Kai Herberts, Gabriel Jesus, Bucayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Still, new transfer chief Andrea Berta made sure the manager was well prepared if there was a repetition.
Viktor Gyoker has arrived in recent years to appease people who have yelled from the rooftops “sign a striker.” Leandro Torosad still managed to leave, but Gabriel Jesus won’t be able to make it to the start of the season, but Ethan Nwaneri is a year older and experienced, and can contribute more.
The Gyokeres are an unknown amount at this level, but the 54 goals they scored in 52 appearances last season are not counted. Like United’s Sesco, the question is how quickly he can adapt to Premier League football.
verdict
Manchester United finds themselves still in third place, in part due to a lower starting point. There are many hinges in the manager and personnel, and Amorim aims to bring together three new faces to create one consistent unit, so we’ll test it.
Arsenal has a stronger base. In particular, Herberts and Saka have returned appropriately after last term bystander time. If the pair could go near where they were before those injuries and Gyoker and Maduke were running (and introducing new parts into the work system should be easier than United’s job).
Liverpool’s recruitment combines with Sarah’s known quality, putting them on roughly equal as the gunners when things are standing. But it’s hard to see them past as the top dogs of attack if they can add Isak to what they already have.
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