Arsenal have added two new names to their list of potential attacking targets in the transfer window, including Aston Villa’s Mogan Rogers.
The Gunners are determined to bolster their forward line during the close season after they left themselves desperately short of goalscoring options last season.
Injuries to Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz effectively ended any hope Arsenal had of sustaining their Premier League title challenge.
Reinforcements are certain to arrive in the coming months with their options at centre forward likely to boil down to Benjamin Sesko and VIktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal looked at signing Rogers’ Villa teammate Ollie Watkins in January but baulked at the £60million valuation.
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According to The Times, Arteta’s attention has now switched to the more versatile Rogers who has enjoyed a stellar rise over the course of the last 18 months.
The 22-year-old joined Villa from Middlesbrough in a £15million deal after he had taken the decision to leave Manchester City.
Rogers has since established himself as a senior England international and decorated Villa’s run the quarter finals of the Champions League.
Who is Igor Paixao?
Persuading Villa to part with one of their prize assets will be a tall order though and with that in mind Arsenal are also keeping tabs on Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao.
The 24-year-old would command a modest transfer fee compared to the likes of Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams.
Paixao mainly operated on the wing for Feyenoord, scoring 16 goals and contributing 14 assists in the league, and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.
Why haven’t Arsenal signed anyone yet?
While the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool have made rapid starts to their summer transfer business, Arsenal have kept their powder dry.
Despite his worrying public denial earlier this week, a deal is understood to be in place for Martin Zubimedni with the Spain international set to join in the next few weeks.
New sporting director Andrea Berta has a jam packed todolist to get through which includes negotiating contract renewals for a number of key players.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes are both expected to sign fresh terms, while youngsters Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly will extend their current deals on improved terms.
As for further reinforcements, Berta is said to prefer to negotiate several deals for the same position simultaneously, before deciding which to activate.
It is a risky strategy, but one that Arsenal would have been aware of before they hired the former Atletico Madrid transfer chief.