Arsenal must seriously wish they had Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak right now.

In a week where Alexander Isak netted his 20th and 21st goals of the season, Arsenal lost control of the Premier League title race and were eliminated from the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa on Sunday, and they followed that up with a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. That meant Arsenal lost 3-2 on aggregate, and their Champions League journey is over at the quarter final stage.

It has been a taxing few days for Arsenal, who must now hope that Manchester City slips up. If not, they will once again fall short in their bid to be Premier League champions.

Arsenal are interested in Alexander Isak

Regardless, Arsenal will start to look towards the summer, as they aim to improve their squad – much like every club.

And one player they have been linked with is Newcastle United superstar Alexander Isak. It has been claimed that Mikel Arteta is a huge fan of the 24-year-old, with Gunners officials constantly scouting the Magpies’ most expensive signing ever.

They will have been impressed with what they have seen, as Isak is enjoying the best season of his career. He has been absolutely outstanding, and is in contention to win the Premier League Golden Boot. With six games to go, he is three goals behind leaders Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer.

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Given the fact he has missed 10 games due to injury, Isak’s record this season is spectacular. He has scored 21 goals in 34 appearances, averaging more than a goal every other game.

Those numbers have resulted in him being idolised by Newcastle fans, and they are also the reason why Arteta would no doubt love to have him at Arsenal.

In fact, the Arsenal manager’s comments after their Champions League defeat explain exactly why he is crying out for a player like Isak.

Arteta spoke to CBS Sports after his side’s Champions League exit, and reflected on what the Gunners are missing.

“The reality is we don’t have a striker who is going to score 30 to 40 goals, and we have to live with that,” he said.

Newcastle have already made their mind up about Isak

Arteta wishes he had a striker who could score more than 30 goals, and that is exactly what Isak is on his way to becoming. If he had been fit for the whole season, he would probably be quite close to that milestone.

In contrast, Arsenal’s main striker Gabriel Jesus has not even hit double figures. He has scored eight goals, and was not able to provide the golden touch against Aston Villa or Bayern Munich.

If they had a player like Isak right now, perhaps they would still have control of the title race and still be in the Champions League.

That is something they will look to rectify this summer, but they already know what Newcastle’s answer will be if they make an approach for Isak. It was recently reported that Arsenal are aware that the Magpies have no plans to sell the Sweden international.

Isak is staying put, and Eddie Howe is going to build his Newcastle United team around him. That should result in him scoring even more goals, which will make it all the more frustrating that Arsenal did not sign him when they had the chance.