Football can deliver fans some brilliant highs and crushing lows, but for Arsenal fans, the last couple of weeks have been nothing but the latter.
Mikel Arteta's men followed up on their impressive draw away at Anfield by losing to West Ham United and Fulham, and then at home, they lost to Liverpool, leaving them fourth in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup.
The Gunners have seemingly forgotten how to score since Christmas, although their defence has still looked impressively resilient, and it could be about to get a whole lot better following the latest player touted for a move to N5, Fikayo Tomori.
Arsenal transfer news – Fikayo Tomori
According to a report from Football Transfers last week, Arteta wants to upgrade his backline in 2024 and has 'earmarked' AC Milan's English centre-back Tomori as just the player to do that with.
The report revealed that the interest, while in the early stage, is genuine, but with Bundesliga behemoths Bayern Munich also said to be keen on the former Chelsea star, the Gunners will have to act quickly.
However, the north Londoners have one advantage over their German competition: Tomori's love of Arsenal great Thierry Henry.
The 26-year-old may have shot to fame playing for Chelsea, but last year, he spoke openly about his love for the Frenchman: "Thierry Henry was my idol when I was playing for my Sunday league team. I always used to have gloves on and pull my socks over my knees.
"If he scored a goal on Saturday, I would make sure to repeat the celebration if I scored on Sunday."
It might be a tough deal to get over the line, but securing the services of a "rock-solid" defender, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would be worth it. Plus, think of the partnership he could form with William Saliba.
Fikayo Tomori could be the perfect partner for William Saliba
While Arsenal have struggled to score for much of this season, they have generally been a great attacking side over the last couple of years, but the area of the team that has been the most impressive since the start of the 2022/23 campaign has been the defence.
The partnership of Saliba and Gabriel, flanked by Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko, has been a marvel and the old song '1-0 to the Arsenal' has had its fair share of outings thanks to them.
That said, things can always be better, and if possible, why not improve upon something already working well, which, with the links to Tomori, seems to be Arteta's thinking.
Adding the Calgary-born monster would mean that one of the Gunners' established centre-backs would have to take a step back in the team, and for as impressive as he has been, that would be Gabriel.
The Brazilian is a fantastic player, but the 6 foot 1 Milan man has been more impressive, and his underlying numbers bear this out.
When comparing the two defenders, the only metric in which the Arsenal man comes out on top is progressive passes per 90, and even then, the difference is not massive.
Stats per 90
Tomori
Gabriel
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.15
0.11
Progressive Carries
0.84
0.55
Progressive Passes
3.38
3.99
Passing Accuracy
91.0%
86.6%
Tackles Won
1.23
0.61
Interceptions
1.23
1.04
Clearances
3.25
2.45
Ball Recoveries
5.00
4.29
All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season
Arsenal could sign "world-class" talent to soon rival Martinelli
Gabriel Martinelli could be watching over his shoulders in the coming years.
ByJack Salveson HolmesJan 9, 2024
On the other hand, the "outstanding" Tomori, as described by former Chelsea player Joe Cole, wins more than twice as many tackles per 90, completes more progressive carries, and generally outclasses his new potential teammate in most defensive metrics.
Ultimately, Gabriel would be justified in feeling a bit hard done by if Arsenal signed the Milan star, but with the prospect of a Premier League title on the horizon, they must make this signing.