This Arsenal attacker link is fun

Wolverhampton Wanderers are involved in a tight relegation battle, and also a battle to keep their best player. New contract negotiations with Matheus Cunha have stalled out over his insistence on a relegation release clause, and his manager publicly criticized him after Monday’s loss to Chelsea.

Enter Arsenal, who are looking to swoop in, according to Fichajes. “Arsenal does not seem willing to back down from their intention to sign him,” bombazo!

I suspect that Wolves will tell all bidders to do one, knowing they’re very likely to go down if Cunha leaves, and that they’ll still be able to get a good price for him in the summer. But if it’s clear he’s going to spend 5 months moping, perhaps they’ll just get paid now.

Cunha’s positional versatility makes him an especially attractive player for Arsenal, who currently have no gaping holes in their attack, but could really use some additional cover for every spot. Enter additional cover for every spot, a player who could occupy any of Arsenal’s front 4 spots if necessary.

I’m not sure he’d be first choice at any of them when everyone is available, but how often is everyone available? If Arsenal add another player who does Attacking Stuff at a Premier League level, that guy is going to get plenty of minutes, regardless of preferred position or footedness.

Cunha’s statistical profile fits in with Arsenal’s need for an attacker who does a little bit of everything as well. He’s not among the league’s absolute best in any category, but he’s a plus shooter, dribbler and passer from a wide forward or attacking midfield position.

The one cause for concern on Cunha is that he’s a bit of a long shot merchant. I’m not sure if this is primarily because he loves a long pop too much or because Wolves are a poor side, but this is not exactly good shot selection.

Cunha has 10 goals this year off the back of some absolute bangers, but this set of shots is not going to produce that many goals multiple seasons in a row. It’s great that he has this skill, but this is a comically low number of high quality shots from inside the 18-yard box for a high-priced attacker linked to big clubs.

I think that Cunha’s shooting profile would get cleaned up quite a bit in a team that’s actually good at getting the ball into the box regularly, but that’s an optimistic hypothesis. The actual hard data is that he takes bad shots.

Whether or not this a good move for Arsenal probably comes down to money, and it’s curious that no one reporting their interest has even taken a guess at a potential price. My guess is that Wolves will use the £52m they got for Pedro Neto — a player of similar age and productivity — as the baseline for a minimum acceptable return.

Personally, I don’t think he’d provide the kind of return for Arsenal that justifies the price tag. My professional recommendation would be to not spend that kind of money on Cunha. But as a general football fan, watching Cunha on Arsenal would probably be really fun. It’s the classic Advanced Stats Nerd vs. That Boy Nice Watcher dilemma. —
KM

More news and rumours

• The Mail also say Nottingham Forest will step up their bid for Cunha if they can’t make a deal for Yoane Wissa from Brentford. Forest seem pretty intent on signing a proven forward to solidify their European chase.

• Man City appear to be on an all-out shopping spree. They’re following up the signings of Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov with another young defender, Juma Bah from Valladolid. The Athletic says they’re after Douglas Luiz, and Nico Schira says they’re weighing up a €75m (!!!) offer for Juventus right back Andrea Cambiaso. I guess they’re confident about beating the charges against them?

• If Manchester United make a big purchase this winter, it appears it’ll be at left wingback. A quick list of names I’ve read them linked to in the last 48 hours: Tyrick Mitchell, Patrick Dorgu, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Nuno Mendes, Milos Kerkez. Well if they make bids for 5 players, surely they can get 1.

• United also look close to shipping out Antony and Marcus Rashford on loan, as well as Alejandro Garnacho on a permanent transfer to Napoli. I guess Ruben Amorim doesn’t really like his current winger pool.

• RB Leipzig would like to beat English clubs to poaching Tyler Dibling, with Southampton’s relegation now inevitable. The Saints probably envisioned Dibling turning into the superstar that brings them back up from the Championship next year, but they should consider offers for anyone this January.

• Arsenal’s been the club linked to Dušan Vlahović all winter, but The Times say Chelsea are looking into him now. Juventus and his agent seem to be promoting him to anyone they can, and yet no one is biting.

• Chelsea also want to sell João Félix and are willing to take €35m for a player they spent €50m+ on just a few months ago. Whoops!

• Spurs have been GAZUMPED by Fenerbahçe in their pursuit of center back Martin Skrinar. Yet another way Tottenham have been scammed by Jose Mourinho.

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