Manchester City could hand Arsenal the perfect chance to sign their top transfer target at the end of the season.
According to Spanish outlet fichajes, Inter Milan are planning a move to sign Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus ahead of next season, as the Brazilian’s contract expires at the end of the next campaign.
This is useful for Arsenal, as according to Italian outlet calciomercato Edu has added Lautaro Martinez to his shortlist of summer striker options as Mikel Arteta plots his new look striker force.
Jesus is very similar in his style of play to Martinez and would certainly be a direct replacement which opens the door for Arsenal.
The Gunners were reportedly interested in signing Martinez last season, but he opted to sign a new contract at his current club Inter Milan.
Since then, Arsenal have been linked to strikers such as Alexander Isak and Jonathan David, who are under the age of 23, however, Arteta could be looking in the direction of a more experienced center forward.
Despite 24 still being a younger age for a striker, Martinez is still very experienced having scored 11 goals in 22 Serie A games for Inter this season, and 61 goals in 164 games for the club overall.
His scoring exploits has been carried over to the Argentina national team as he has scored 19 goals in 37 caps and played a major part in their Copa America win in the summer.
Edy will need to sign a striker in the summer as Alexandre Lacazette’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, meaning a decision needs to be made by the Arsenal hierarchy whether they offer the 30-year-old a new contract or not.
And it seems he could depart from the club after reported interest from his former club Lyon.
Lacazette’s exit seems even more likely after the recent comments made by Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, as he said via Metro : “We’ll do our best to sign Alexandre Lacazette in June. We’ve always remained in contact with him.”
If the Frenchman does depart from the club then the Gunners could be left with just one recognised striker in the form of Folarin Balogun, as Nketiah’s contract is also set to expire at the end of the season.
Martinez would certainly be an excellent acquisition to solve the incoming striker problems for Arsenal, and Pep Guardiola could play a major part by selling Jesus to Inter.
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