Prior to this weekend, Arsenal had won their last six matches and were top of the Premier League. However, they suffered a 1-0 defeat on the road to an incredibly well-drilled Aston Villa on Saturday, which meant the Gunners lost their first-place spot to Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta’s side were not at their best, but they did create enough chances to get at least a point out of the tie. Four big chances were missed and the xG reached 1.4, poor finishing ultimately cost them.

With that in mind, Arsenal may look to add a more prolific attacker into the mix this winter, who can create and also find the back of the net, a task that both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have failed to achieve this season.

Arsenal's interest in Florian Wirtz

One man on Arteta’s wish list is Bundesliga star, Florian Wirtz, as per reports last month. However, north London rivals, Spurs, are also interested in the attacking midfielder.

Other large clubs across Europe have noted the Bayer Leveruksen player as a target, but his current clubs asking price is rumoured to be a whopping £103m, which may turn them away.

At this current moment, it is unclear whether Arsenal will be able to afford the talented magician, and Leverkusen are confident of keeping hold of their key attacker.

How Florian Wirtz compares to Kai Havertz

Firstly, their likeness stems from their pathway to elite football, with the duo bursting onto the scene as a creative forward at Bayer Leverkusen, but their influence and style on the football field are nothing alike.

Just from a role perspective, Havertz has been more of a connecter from midfield to attack under Arteta, with the view to offload the ball to the wingers and get into the box to meet the cross.

Whereas Wirtz is a far more creative player who is instrumental in the majority of attacks that his side has, using his passing range and silky dribbling to unlock the opponent. The table below serves as evidence for this, with the stats coming from their respective leagues this season.

Key passes

2.88

1.47

Passes into penalty area

3.51

1.27

Shot-creating actions

6.03

2.45

Successful take-ons

3.33

0.49

Carries into final third

4.05

1.18

Furthermore, the “magic” 20-year-old – as per scout Antonio Mango – boasts a much better output than the Arsenal man. Despite playing 24 matches compared to Wirtz’s 20, Havertz has only contributed to five goals across all competitions, yet the Leveruksen player has registered 16 goal contributions.

The ex-Chelsea versatile forward has only registered one assist this season and when you compare that to Wirtz’s ten, you can see the clear difference in style/intent.

Previously, Havertz claimed that he sees himself as an ‘inside right eight’ but since joining the Premier League, his game has focused on scoring goals, joining the attack as almost a false nine at times and using his incredible aerial ability, which ranks in the top 2% of positionally similar players in Europe. On the other hand, Wirtz would continue to be the type of player to create a moment of magic out of nothing, in a similar fashion to his idol, Lionel Messi.

If a move to Arsenal were to progress, Wirtz would find himself as the left-sided eight, who has the freedom to roam and create combinations with Gabriel Martinelli and Jesus. His creativity would also relieve the pressure off the right-hand side duo of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, making Arteta’s men far less predictable and ultimately more prolific in attack.