Arsenal are reportedly preparing a bid to sign a £51 million player targeted by Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich, and it is believed the Gunners want to act fast to win the race.
Edu could sign new world-class striker for Arsenal this summer
Mikel Arteta's side were praised for their excellent attacking form last season, despite just losing out on the Premier League title to eventual champions Man City, who won a national record fourth league crown in a row.
European club set for talks to sign "prolific" ace from Arsenal this week
It could be a summer of change at the Emirates Stadium.
ByEmilio GalantiniMay 29, 2024
The north Londoners scored over 90 goals in the league alone, with the majority of their strikes coming courtesy of Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz. Their attacking contributions came from across the forward line in the absence of a world-class natural number nine, which is testament to the fluidity of Arsenal's side going forward.
However, it has been widely reported that sporting director Edu could soon put that to an end, as Arsenal are actively seeking a new striker this summer. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are Arteta's only senior options in that position right now, but both are facing uncertain futures at the Emirates Stadium.
Bukayo Saka
20
Leandro Trossard
17
Kai Havertz
14
Martin Odegaard
11
Gabriel Martinelli
8
A guaranteed 25-plus-goals-per-season front man has long been thought of as the missing piece of the jigsaw, with Arsenal chiefs eager to source it before the start of next season.
"Arsenal are seeking to sign a prime striker before their pre-season tour," wrote reliable journalist Miguel Delaney for The Independent recently.
"Mikel Arteta has already long started work on plans for next season, and wants to bring in three first-team level players while moving out three or four.
They did already considered purchasing a striker in January, with that long seen as the final main piece missing. A move for Ivan Toney was considered then, but Brentford’s £100m price put Arsenal off, and he has since fallen way down the list of targets.
"Arteta wants to get all business done early, so the squad is immediately ready to work on a campaign where they are aiming to hit over 90 points. The plans have already seen in the market as reminiscent of Liverpool around 2018."
A forward who Arsenal have been regularly linked with is Bologna star Joshua Zirkzee, coming after the Dutchman's excellent Serie A campaign.
Arsenal preparing bid for Joshua Zirkzee
According to Italian newspaper Tuttosport, as relayed by Spanish media, Arsenal are preparing an official bid for Zirkzee, but Bundesliga giants Bayern also have the striker on their list of potential targets and are "involved" in the race.
The Bavarians, who will now be lead by new manager Kompany (Fabrizio Romano), possess a buy-back clause regarding Zirkzee – which hands them an advantage. However, if they decide not to formalise their interest, Arsenal would be handed a fairly clear run.
Arsenal chiefs apparently want to move quickly for Zirkzee as they seek to end their long search for a natural striker of real quality. Stefano Pioli, commenting on the £51 million Zirkzee last season, claimed he is a striker who "has everything".