Arsenal ‘scout’ Leipzig duo and £87m 31-goal striker with Toney bid ‘not a foregone conclusion’
Arsenal have reportedly had scouts in attendance to watch RB Leipzig duo Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his attack.
A new striker is high on the agenda for the Gunners, who are expected to spend big on a No. 9 at the end of the season.
Arsenal are scoring goals for fun without a No. 9
At the start of the winter transfer window, it was widely believed that Arteta desperately needed to buy a striker to keep his side in the Premier League title race.
The Spanish manager decided that splashing the cash mid-season was not an option and those people who said there are not enough goals in this Arsenal team now have egg on their faces.
Since visiting Dubai for a warm-weather training camp during the winter break, the Londoners have been unstoppable in front of goal, scoring 31 goals in seven Premier League matches.
They look revitalised and ready to push Liverpool and Manchester City all the way this season.
And all of these goals have been flying in without a natural striker on the pitch. Arteta has been using Kai Havertz and sometimes Leandro Trossard up front, and the Gunners are playing the best football they have played since peak Wengerball.
Arsenal still want a new striker
Although Arsenal’s form hints that they are fine without the signing of a striker, it feels like Arteta will want to bring one in this summer.
Several names are being linked with a move to the Emirates, with Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee and Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres the two names being mentioned the most right now.
Arteta is a known admirer of Brentford talisman Ivan Toney, though, and the England striker has often emphasised his desire to move to a bigger club.
It has been revealed by the Sun that the Bees wanted £100million for Toney in the winter transfer window, with Arsenal bidding for the player in the summer ‘not a foregone conclusion’.
Arsenal are believed to be wary of the fact they already owe Brentford £27m for David Raya and are also looking to spend money in other positions.
While Arteta is looking to bring in another winger and potentially a centre-back and midfielder, it is claimed that his scouting team has been keeping a close eye on Sporting striker Gyokeres and Leipzig’s Sesko.
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Indeed, the former has ‘been watched on several occasions’ and will no doubt have impressed the scouts in attendance, scoring his 32nd goal of the season in Sunday’s Portuguese league win over Farense.
The Swedish striker has a £87m release clause in his contract and the Gunners believe Sporting ‘could be persuaded to accept a lower fee’, which is something they have done in the past with their star players.
It’s added that Gyokeres might not be Arteta’s top choice but is someone who could come in for a smaller fee than Toney.
Meanwhile, it is claimed that the Spaniard is keeping a close eye on Leipzig duo Sesko and Simons, who can play anywhere across the front three and in a No. 10 role.
Simons is currently on loan from Paris Saint-Germain so could be quite tricky to attain, but Sesko has a release clause worth £43m, which is pretty appealing.
The report adds that a winger Arteta likes is Pedro Neto, with Wolves in a stronger position financially and are no longer desperate to raise funds, meaning they are holding out for around £80m.
It’s going to be another expensive one for Arsenal.
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