At the start of the 2022/23 English Premier League season, fans of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal were all full of excitement after their clubs signed new centre-forwards.
These three players weren’t meant to be squad players; they were signed to be the main men of their teams’ attacking lineups – the star attackers.
Embed from Getty ImagesErling Haaland moved from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in a deal worth £51 million. Practically every club in the world would have liked to have signed this youngster who is being touted as potentially the future best player in the world.
Luckily for City fans, he chose to work under Pep Guardiola at the club where his father was once a player and, more importantly, for the club that he actually supports.
City triggered the 21-year-release-old’s clause but reportedly paid a lot more than that after agent fees, a signing bonus, and other costs. The total is said to be around £85m.
Embed from Getty ImagesDarwin Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica for a club-record £85 million. The Uruguayan forward signed a six-year deal at Anfield. Last season, the 22-year-old scored 34 goals in all competitions for Benfica.
After narrowly missing out on an incredible quadruple last season, Liverpool fans were desperate to see their team strengthened ahead of the new season with the likes of Spurs, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all spending big in the transfer market.
Add to the fact that Liverpool lost one of their best players in Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, Liverpool were desperate for a new star centre-forward, and hopes were high after Nunez was announced as the new Liverpool striker.
Embed from Getty ImagesGabriel Jesus signed a long-term deal with Arsenal after leaving Premier League champions Manchester City for £45 million.
Many football supporters saw this signing as potentially one of the best of the summer transfers in England.
However, there was a risk as Jesus wasn’t the first-choice striker during his time at City and didn’t start enough games to be classed as their main man.
It would be quite easy to argue that Jesus becoming the main man in the Arsenal attack would be enough to motivate him to hit an impressive goalscoring target, and so far, he has seriously impressed.
So, who is the best between Haaland, Jesus and Nunez? We are only six games in, but we have learned a lot about all three players.
Haaland has scored a whopping ten league goals in just six matches, which is an incredible tally and, should he continue at this rate, will walk the golden boot this season and score the most goals out of any Premier League striker by far.
I believe that only Harry Kane has any chance of keeping up with him, but it will be a very tall order.
Jesus has started really well, scoring three league goals and setting up another three for his team. Arsenal fans and pundits alike have been very impressed with the Brazilian, who is still only 25 years old.
Embed from Getty ImagesNunez, on the other hand, has had a tricky start to his Liverpool career, getting himself sent off against Crystal Palace and showing that he has the potential to explode during a match and lose his head.
However, on the other hand, this shows that Nunez has heart, passion and aggression and, if controlled, could be beneficial to his game and to Liverpool as a team. He has scored already this season and will be looking to improve his tally and get his team back on track after a rather disappointing start to the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesAll in all, I think that Halland is the main man of the three. He is just a monster in attack with a ruthless and clinical streak which will put fear into any defence that he will face this season.
I believe that Jesus is second best, and for me, his aggressive style and the way he harassed defenders is a great way of complimenting his goals and assists. He really is a hit at Arsenal.
The jury is out on Nunez as he missed three matches for his red card offence. Unfortunately for him, he comes last out of the three strikers but hopefully, he will find his feet quickly and get back on track for what will surely be one of the best Premier League seasons in history.
