The goals are flowing again for Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, but could the Magpies soon face a fight to keep him at St James’ Park?
The 25-year-old Sweden forward scored for the fourth time in four games to help his side fight back to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Sunday, and his all-round display impressed former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, who was watching for BBC MOTD2.
“When you talk about the mould for the ultimate build of a perfect striker, Isak has got all of those elements,” Walcott told BBC Sport.
“I am not saying he is perfect yet, but he has got all the attributes he needs to become perfect.
“Whether that will happen at Newcastle, I don’t know. But they need to tie him down pretty quickly otherwise they are going to lose him.
“Isak is the sort of player Arsenal genuinely need, but you would say everyone needs a player like him in their team right now, even Liverpool, and it is not just Premier League teams who will be trying to get hold of him either.
“Look at Real Madrid’s line-up at this moment in time. They go for these Galacticos and buy these incredible talents, but they sometimes put them in positions where they can’t quite do it.
“I would say that if you put Isak in that Real team then he moulds them together in a different way, where you might think they now look like a very well-balanced team.
“That’s the level he’s at, and I can absolutely understand why all the very top teams would want him.
“As well as his all-round forward play, he scores goals as well – all kinds of different goals. As I said on MOTD2, his finish against Forest when the ball dropped for him in the box was pure class, after the brilliant header he put away against Arsenal last week.
“There is more to come from him as well. Newcastle are a good team, but put him in a better team and he would get better too.”
‘This generation’s Thierry Henry’
Isak scored 25 goals for the Magpies last season, but made a slower start to the new campaign and scored only once in his first seven appearances, before his current purple patch.
Sunday’s match had been billed as a battle of the in-form strikers, with Forest’s Chris Wood also on a fine scoring run, but Walcott feels Isak deserves comparisons to more illustrious names than the 6ft 3in New Zealand target man.
“Wood’s role for Forest plays to his strengths, which are occupying the centre-halves as a big hold-up player, and putting away any chances the wingers make for him inside the box,” he explained.
“He’s extremely effective if you give him that service, and he has had a really good season, but you can keep him quiet by stopping his supply like Newcastle did.
“Isak is far more of an all-rounder, who can hold up play like Wood does, but also gives centre-halves different problems to think about. He’s got pace, as well as a physical presence, plus he is composed on the ball and his energy levels mean he can press as well.
“He’s the sort of player who does not get bored on the pitch, and that makes him harder to stop. You get certain players who at times might think ‘I am not getting the ball and I can’t get involved’ and they switch off.
“With Isak, he can adapt. He might think ‘OK, it is not working for me as a number nine at the moment’, so he will drop deep to play as a 10, or go out to the wing and Anthony Gordon can come inside. He is comfortable everywhere on the pitch.
“The ability to rotate positions and occupy every role in a frontline is part of what makes him a constant threat. As a player he is something pretty unique in the Premier League right now, and for me he is the closest thing we have seen to another Thierry Henry.
“Henry started out wide, so he knew that role very well, and Isak’s pace and strength means he is excellent in those areas too. But where Henry was not particularly great was with his back to goal, or heading the ball, and Isak can head it – the perfect example of that was his winning goal against Arsenal last week.
“I would say he is this generation’s Henry, but with extra attributes in the air. That’s who I would compare him to from my era, anyway.
“His game makes him a mix of Didier Drogba, Michael Owen and Henry – oh and with a dash of Theo Walcott’s pace out wide. That’s not a bad mix at all, is it?”
‘If Arsenal want him, they have to be quick’
Isak, who joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad for £63m in August 2022, is under contract until 2028 but has reportedly attracted interest from clubs including Arsenal and Chelsea in recent months.
Walcott feels the Gunners would benefit from the variety he brings to Newcastle’s attack, and would love to see him link up with Martin Odegaard for his old side.
“Centre-halves can become quite comfortable,” Walcott said. “They understand now how to face a front-three set-up, for example when you have got your standard wingers who might like to cut inside, and then a number nine who wants to hold the ball up – and that’s about it.
“What you want to see is players who might think about how to test defenders in a different way, so they know they cannot relax for a second.
“Watching Arsenal, they are not one-dimensional but their attacks can be a little bit predictable at times.
“Imagine them having the option of a player like Isak who can genuinely do everything, and then put Odegaard, for instance, behind him.
“Kai Havertz has been brilliant at leading the line, up to a point, but we are talking about Arsenal challenging to win the league, and they need that next level of player to do that.
“Isak would be it, at any club, but if Arsenal do want him then they have to get in there quick, because Real Madrid, or someone like that, are going come knocking, and his price is only going to go up.”
