Newcastle legend Chris Waddle has praised Alexander Isak and believes the Arsenal transfer target has all the hallmarks of being the ‘ideal’ Premier League centre forward.
The Sweden international has been in superb recent form, equalling a club record last weekend by scoring in a seventh successive match.
Arsenal have long been linked with a player who first came to their attention during his time at Real Sociedad.
Mikel Arteta is understood to remain keen on the 25-year-old who is valued at an astonishing £150 million by his current club.
Isak will get a chance to show Arsenal what they are missing out on again tonight as the two teams lock horns in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Waddle believes the Newcastle hero would be a perfect fit for the Gunners as long as he is able to maintain his fitness.
Injuries have been a problem for Isak, who scored the winning goal when the two teams met earlier this season at St James’ Park, but the striker looks to have overcome those issues.
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He told Prime Casino: ‘We don’t know if Isak is very interested in going to Arsenal. Moving to London, heading south, that appeals to a lot of players.
‘Isak doesn’t really do a lot of interviews. He doesn’t really give a lot away, just gets on with his game. He’s had injury problems in his career. Arsenal might be thinking twice about spending £100 million plus on him because of that history.
‘He’s a very good centre forward. He’s a player who I didn’t expect to do as well as he has. He can dribble, he can run, he’s got pace, he can finish. You know, he’s a good centre forward for modern day football.
‘He’s got very quick feet and I can see why Arsenal are looking at him as a priority because he would instantly improve their team.
‘Keeping him fit is the main thing. If you keep him fit, you’ve got an ideal centre-forward for the Premier League.’
Arsenal go into tonight’s game off the back of a disappointing draw against Brighton, while Eddie Howe’s men are riding high following a run of five straight wins.
‘Newcastle are on a great run at the minute. Let’s see how they go against Arsenal.’ added Waddle. ‘They’re full of confidence, they’ll fancy their chances.
‘We know how strong Arsenal are defensively, they don’t give much away, but, at the moment, they probably don’t create as much as Newcastle.
‘It’s a cup game. It’s two games where Newcastle will fancy their chances, definitely. Arsenal are playing game after game with all the competitions they’re in at the moment.
‘Newcastle is not going to get a better chance to win a trophy than this opportunity with the League Cup.
‘It’s a great opportunity for them and Eddie Howe should be really trying to win it, not worrying about resting players. If he goes for it, this could be the year that Newcastle lift a trophy.’