Arsenal have parted with a £55million chunk of lucre in exchange for the services of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a man who scored 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Dortmund.
The Gunners will no doubt be enthused to learn that, in paying the big money for world football’s best available goal-poacher, they have not only strengthened their tilt on Carabao Cup glory this season, but also mathematically improved their team by a clear margin.
Indeed, BBC Sport have run the numbers through SAM (Sports Analytics Machine), the football-loving super computer built by Ian McHale, professor of sports analytics at the University of Liverpool.
Here’s what SAM has to offer on Arsenal’s acquisition of Aubameyang:
Arsenal signing Aubameyang will increase Arsenal’s probability of finishing in the top four by 2% (up to 20%) and would bring an expected increase in points of around 0.6.
What a yield. Going on those figures, this looks to be £55million (plus £5million in add-ons) well spent.
(Via Anorak)