Could Arsenal afford to sign Haaland next season?

Stefan Bienkowski

• 21 Oct 2021 08:43 BST
• 7 min read

Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland has been linked with moves to some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Whether it’s Manchester City, Real Madrid or Chelsea, the Norwegian talent will likely have his pick of the bunch when he does eventually decide to move on from the Bundesliga side.

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However, while Haaland’s future club may seem like something of a foregone conclusion, there is still the small chance of the striker making an unorthodox move and instead joining a club that hasn’t been routinely linked with a move for him.

A club, for example, like Arsenal. Who are apparently quite an enticing destination for Haaland, according to one of their former players.

’Maybe he could go to Man Utd or Arsenal’

Indeed, former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann believes Haaland may be more interested in moving to a club that really needs him, rather than join a side full of star-studded strikers that will compete with him for a place in the team.

As such, that could potentially mean a move to another club like Dortmund which are in desperate need of a world class goal scorer. And Arsenal certainly fall into that category.

"He already has an imposing stature. The force and that height. He has to improve his other foot, of course. I've never seen such a massive, tall player be so fast,” said the former goalkeeper in an interview with Bild.

"He's still here. There are not so many clubs where he can go and where he can make the difference.

“Maybe he could go to Manchester United or Arsenal, he could bring a club back up there."

Could Arsenal sign Haaland?

While Arsenal are by no means one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League right now, they do still have some of the deepest pockets and would likely be able to afford the Norway international.

As they’ve shown with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal can match some of the highest wages in Europe when they do really rate a player. So in a sense, Haaland could earn as much at Arsenal as he would at Madrid or Man City.

However, the real problem with Arsenal is that they remain a mid-table side in England and would struggle to convince Haaland that they can quickly become a title-challenging club anytime soon. Even if the towering striker was leading the line for them.