Arsenal are pushing hard to try and strengthen the squad this month, in particular, the striker position with the futures of the current crop so uncertain.
Edu is doing ‘everything possible’ to sign Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic, football.london understands and Arsenal have reportedly had a bid accepted by the Italian side according to OK Calcio Mercato.
However, the player and his representatives prove to be a stumbling block for Arsenal and the likelihood of a deal remains low at this stage. Should Edu and Mikel Arteta be unable to convince Vlahovic to leave Florence this winter, not signing anyone up top could be a huge error.
The club are chasing a place in the top four which would grant them a return to the Champions League. A goal the club has fought for since falling out of the elite tournament under Arsene Wenger.
The difficulty is, other strikers such as Alexander Isak, Jonathan David and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, all of whom are interesting Arsenal according to The Athletic, are near-impossible to agree on a move for in the January window.
Therefore, Arsenal could look towards an alternative path. Either sign a striker on loan until the end of the season to provide support and then move for a primary target in the summer. Or, look to sign a less expensive alternative in the form of a young starlet from a club willing to sell.
From the perspective of a loan, one of the obvious choices remains Luka Jovic. The Real Madrid player is out of favour at Real Madrid with Karim Benzema continuing to start and the Serbian is in need of a move to restart his career.
Martin Odegaard has achieved this after leaving Madrid and perhaps Jovic would also benefit from the switch to north London. Madrid have already allowed the player to leave on loan once, returning to Frankfurt, now he could be enabled the brief hiatus again.
A cheaper option from abroad on a permanent deal is Basel’s Arthur Cabral. Considered the best player in the Swiss League, Cabral has scored a stunning 27 goals in 31 games this season.
At 23, and valued at £13.5 million according to Transfermarkt, Cabral would fit into the profile of players that Arteta has looked to bring into the side.
He also wouldn’t block the path to bring in a marquee forward in the summer and act as a great rotation and cover option for a Vlahovic or Isak for example.
There remains, however, a third option. Arsenal could look to sign a versatile wide forward. With Nicolas Pepe’s future uncertain, football.london understands the Ivorian would consider his options this winter, whilst the club has been linked with a number of wide players.
Juventus’ Dejan Kulusevski was linked persistently in December, but rumours did die down with the pursuit of Vlahovic stepping up.
The Swede can play wide right but also in a central position. He would cost a greater sum with the reported asking price of around £30 million. However, he would not block the arrival of a marquee summer striker and could cover centrally in the remaining five months of the season if need be.
Arsenal have options, what they don’t have is time. Technical director Edu needs to have contingencies in place if the Vlahovic deal becomes impossible to complete.
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