Actual top Arsenal striker target revealed as report names who Arteta ‘would jump at the chance to sign’
Arsenal are in the market for an upgrade at centre-forward and the dream target for Mikel Arteta would be Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus, a report has claimed.
In order to stand any chance of improving upon last season’s runners-up finish in the Premier League, some believe Arsenal need a more clinical and reliable striker than either Gabriel Jesus or Eddie Nketiah.
There have been plenty of links with in-demand Brentford striker Ivan Toney as one option, for example, but Football Transfers says the man at the top of Arteta’s wish list is actually Vlahovic.
Arsenal are long-term admirers of the Serbia international, but Juventus beat them to signing him from Fiorentina in January 2022.
Since then, Vlahovic has scored 27 goals from 72 appearances for Juventus, who have been a little underwhelmed by him despite the move not being a total disaster.
Still only 23 years old, Vlahovic might develop better elsewhere and Arteta ‘would jump at the chance to sign him’ for Arsenal, according to the report from Football Transfers.
Furthermore, there is a belief that Vlahovic would be cheaper to sign than Toney, or another ambitious option such as Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
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Juventus have Vlahovic under contract until 2026, but were open to sending him to Chelsea when they were negotiating about Romelu Lukaku in the summer.
That part-exchange deal never materialised, as Vlahovic stayed at Juventus and Lukaku went on loan to Roma instead.
Arteta keeping Vlahovic in mind
Despite his four goals in nine appearances this season, Vlahovic still faces an uncertain future in Turin. Therefore, as is said to be his policy for long-term targets, Arsenal boss Arteta is refusing to lose sight of him.
Unlike Toney for example, Vlahovic has never played in the Premier League before but appears to have the appropriate traits to succeed there – or if not immediately, time on his side to develop his skillset to do so.
As for the players he would be competing with at Arsenal, Jesus has good pedigree from his days at Manchester City, but injury issues have impacted his time in north London.
Meanwhile, Nketiah has been pushing for a bigger role for a long time now, but remains a backup striker when everyone is fit for Arsenal.
It remains to be seen what the implications would be for Jesus or Nketiah if Arsenal were to bring in someone above them in the pecking order up front. They are both under contract at the Emirates Stadium until 2027.
