Gary Lineker ‘surprised’ by striker transfer target Alan Shearer feels Arsenal should sign

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Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have ‘surprised’ Gary Lineker by suggesting Arsenal should target a transfer for SSC Napoli striker Victor Osimhen over all other forwards.

The Gunners are likely to be in the market for a new striker in January, if funds are available. Mikel Arteta has only overseen one win in Arsenal’s past seven games with five goals scored across those fixtures. The north London side are also without a win in their past four games.

A run of one win in their last five Premier League fixtures has also dropped Arsenal down to fourth in the table. While their 37 goals from 20 top-flight fixtures only rank as the seventh-best attack to date. The Emirates Stadium natives ranked second with 45 after 20 last term.

Arsenal have Napoli star Victor Osimhen on their striker transfer shortlist

Last term’s top goalscorers, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli with 15, have also only scored four and two this season. Bukayo Saka currently leads their chart with six over Eddie Nketiah with five. Gabriel Jesus has also only scored three, the same as Declan Rice to date.

So, the Mirror have long reported that Brentford’s Ivan Toney is Arteta’s top striker target at Arsenal. He also wants to join the Gunners and can move for £60m. But the Daily Star notes Arteta has also identified AFC Bournemouth’s £50m-valued Dominic Solanke as his backup.

Yet Shearer and Richards agree that Arsenal should target a transfer for Napoli star Osimhen over any striker in January. The 25-year-old is even on the Gunners’ radar, claims TuttoJuve, alongside Toney and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic. Arsenal have not ruled out a transfer, either.

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards ‘surprised’ Gary Lineker by backing a deal

But while Shearer and Richards agree that Arsenal should step up their interest in Osimhen and target his transfer, the striker signed a new contract with Napoli in December. It locked the 27-cap Nigerian down until June 2026 and even has a $143m (£112.5m) release clause.

Napoli have also struggled in Serie A so far this season as they try to defend their Scudetto. The Azzurri are ninth in the table after 19 games, of which Osimhen has only featured in 13 for seven goals. He fired Napoli to their first top-flight title since 1989/90 with 26 across 32.

So, Shearer and Richards ‘surprised’ Lineker by naming Osimhen as the striker who Arsenal should target a January transfer for. The Lagos native has missed four Serie A games with a hamstring injury. He also missed one fixture through suspension before heading to AFCON.

“A striker,” Richards said on The Rest is Football when asked for which position Arsenal need to strengthen in January. To which, Shearer simply added: “Osimhen.” Richards, as well, also picked the Nigerian as a top target, continuing: “Osimhen, he’s signed a new deal at Napoli.”

Lineker responded: “I was surprised at that because they’re struggling this season. What are they, seventh [or] eighth in the league?” But Richards added: “Osimhen would be my one.”