Even before losing Gabriel Jesus to a serious knee injury last weekend, Arsenal were in the hunt for a new striker who could add some firepower over the next six months or so.
Mikel Arteta has seemingly watched two chances for Arsenal to win a trophy this season end over the space of a week following defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester United.
In both games that Arsenal lost at the Emirates Stadium, the home side produced much more xG, but weren’t able to take almost any of their chances.
Kai Havertz definitely has to take some portion of that blame, even if he has been playing relatively well aside from his finishing.
Jesus’ sudden goalscoring has been very welcome of late, however, it now seems as if the Brazilian’s campaign is over, another bitter injury blow for Arteta.
Arsenal make Dusan Vlahovic offer but it’s not good news for Mikel Arteta
Now, it seems as if Arsenal are finally taking action to sort their issues in front of goal.
Football Transfers are reporting that Arsenal have made a loan offer for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, a familiar name around N5.
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Arsenal have been linked with Vlahovic for years, but unfortunately their new loan approach has been rejected by the Italian giants.
The Gunners wanted the Serbia international even before he decided to join Juventus after leaving Fiorentina in 2021.
And now Arteta is revisiting his former target, hoping he can give his side an ‘edge’ over the remainder of the season.
Reports from Italy previously suggested Arteta was obsessed with Vlahovic, a striker the club know very well by this point.
Arsenal actually made their loan bid at the end of last week, but Juventus refused to accept that offer, stating that they want to sell the striker permanently or at least include an obligation to buy in any loan deal.
Arsenal need to revive interest in Randal Kolo Muani
A frustrating turn of events for the Gunners, but it was never going to be easy signing a striker of that quality on loan, especially halfway through the season.
Arsenal supposedly bid for Igor Jesus earlier in the window too, a Brazilian striker who the club also wanted on loan.
It seems as if Arteta would prefer to only sign a striker on a short-term basis this month, given that the likes of Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko won’t be available right now.
Should these reports be believed, it would seem that Arsenal are trying to preserve their long-term plan to go big on a striker in the summer, whilst finding an immediate fix for now.
A difficult situation for Arteta to navigate, and perhaps Arsenal should revisit Randal Kolo Muani who seems free to leave PSG.
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