David Ornstein has responded to rumours linking Arsenal with a move for Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke.
Arsenal have been linked with a whole host of strikers ahead of the January transfer window.
The Gunners are currently on top of the Premier League table ahead of their mouth-watering clash against title rivals Liverpool on Saturday, but that hasn’t stopped Mikel Arteta from eyeing up new additions.
RB Leizpig’s Benjamin Sesko is one of them. Arsenal are reportedly admiring the wonderkid and could land him for as little as £40 million.
Meanwhile, Arsenal received a boost in their pursuit of Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who could be available for £55 million next month after the Bees originally slapped an £80m price tag on the English striker.
Arteta’s side have also been linked with Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Santos wonderkid Marcos Leonardo, but David Ornstein has confirmed the name of one striker who isn’t on their Christmas wishlist.
David Ornstein reveals Arsenal aren’t interested in Dominic Solanke
On his weekly Q&A for the Athletic, Ornstein asked numerous questions, ranging from football transfers to his personal life.
One fan asked about Arsenal’s latest pursuit of a striker and wanted to know if they were interested in signing Dominic Solanke to which he responded: “Not to my knowledge”.
Despite Ornstein putting this rumour to bed, it was reported that Arsenal were keeping tabs on the Bournemouth striker as a backup to Gabriel Jesus, prompting a meltdown from sections of the fanbase.
Solanke is enjoying a fine campaign for the Cherries so far with eight goals in 16 Premier League appearances. This has already bettered his return from last campaign, where he managed just six goals in 33 top-flight games.
Despite his strong form, Arsenal fans will be pleased to see that the club aren’t interested in Solanke.
Solanke isn’t an upgrade on Gabriel Jesus
The whole point of Arsenal investing in a striker is to acquire someone who is performing at an elite level to push Gabriel Jesus, and Solanke doesn’t possess the tools to do so.
Although he’s been impressive in front of goal and possesses the work rate to harry defenders, he doesn’t have the technical attributes to push Jesus for a place in the team.
One of the Brazilian’s greatest strengths is pinning defenders, accelerating away from them and picking out a pass.
Unfortunately, Solanke isn’t on that level and would be an underwhelming acquisition given the Gunners have been linked with Toney, Osimhen and Ferguson.
Arteta wants a world-class striker to hit the ground running – like Erling Haaland did in the Premier League – and fire Arsenal to titles.
The one-capped Englishman falls way short of what the Spaniard is looking for and isn’t even an upgrade on Jesus.
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