Arsenal transfers: Arteta’s shortlist with ‘four key names’ revealed with £112m signing ‘not ruled out’

Arsenal have ‘four key names’ on the agenda as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his frontline in the January transfer window, according to a report.

The Gunners have struggled in front of goal this campaign. Bukayo Saka is their top scorer in the Premier League with six goals.

Their lack of a cutting edge in the final third was on display in the two defeats last week against West Ham United and Fulham, meaning Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

Plenty of strikers have been linked with a move to the Emirates, no more so than Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who is set to return from a lengthy suspension this month.

A deal to sign Toney will be extremely expensive, so it would not be a surprise to see Arteta persist with Nketiah and Jesus as his No. 9 options until the summer.

Many feel Arsenal’s bid for the Premier League title will fail due to their lack of an out-and-out goalscorer and despite clubs’ asking prices in January and the Gunners’ battle to stay within financial fair play guidelines, a report from Fichajes has said Arteta wants ‘to make a splash in the transfer market’.

The main ‘goal’ for Arteta is to win the Champions League, it is claimed, and with that, the Spanish manager will need to bring in a new striker.

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There are apparently ‘four key names’ on his shortlist, starting with Inter’s Lautaro Martinez.

It is claimed that the Argentine World Cup winner ‘is one of Arsenal’s main targets’ and the Gunners ‘are willing to make an effort to sign him’ in the winter transfer window, even though ‘it won’t be an easy task’.

Elsewhere, Toney obviously gets a mention. As touched on already, the potential deal will be ‘complicated’ to complete and Brentford want a lot of money.

Another striker Arsenal have been strongly linked with is Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen, who is one of the four players in the report from the Spanish website.

The Gunners’ interest is ‘complicated’ by Osimhen’s recent contract extension, it is said.

Despite this, the signing is ‘not ruled out entirely’ and it is clear the Nigerian is ‘an attractive option for Arteta’.

This will be an extremely expensive signing to complete but there is probably not a better No. 9 option out there.

Osimhen now has a £112million release clause in his contract and it is hard to see Napoli sell for anything other than that price, which would have to be paid up front.

Finally, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface is added to the mix.

Osimhen’s compatriot has been outstanding for the German outfit since making the move from Union SG in the summer transfer window.

The 23-year-old has 16 goals and eight assists across all competitions this term and has helped Leverkusen top the Bundesliga with an unbeaten record, winning 13 of their opening 16 fixtures.

Fichajes say Boniface ‘has caught Arteta’s eye’ and has emerged as ‘an interesting candidate’ to help fire Arsenal to Champions League glory.

Despite all of the transfer links, Arteta insisted after Sunday’s loss at Fulham that his side will compete in the second half of the season with the players he currently has at his disposal.

“We have to do what we did in the previous 19 games,” he said. “With the same players.”

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