Arsenal are reportedly leading the race to sign a £73million-rated striker who is also of interest to Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta has been looking to add more firepower to his squad this summer but so far, only winger Christos Tzolis has arrived as a replacement for Leandro Trossard.
An audacious move for Vinicius Junior was in the pipeline, but that came to an end on Thursday when the Brazil superstar signed a new contract with Real Madrid.
With Napoli in talks to sign Gabriel Jesus and the future of Gabriel Martinelli still up in the air, signing a new forward will be Arsenal’s top priority for the rest of the transfer window.
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Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez and PSG’s Bradley Barcola have been heavily linked with the Emirates, while there is also some interest in Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye.
But it now appears Arteta is stepping up his efforts to sign Inter Milan striker Pio Esposito.
The Gunners have been tracking the 21-year-old for months and, according to The Sun, they sent scouts all the way to Australia to watch him play in Inter’s pre-season friendly against rivals AC Milan on Wednesday.
Though he did not score in the 1-1 draw, Esposito is said to have greatly impressed Arsenal’s recruitment team and while United also had scouts present, they are not preparing to make an offer this summer.
Arteta wants a physically imposing centre-forward, similar to Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz, and at 6ft 3in, Esposito fits that bill.
After scoring for fun in Serie B with Spezia, the young striker enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2025/26, scoring 10 goals across all competitions as Inter won a league and cup double.
Esposito has also broken into Italy’s first-team, with five goals in just nine caps so far.
While his credentials are very good, Inter have publicly stated that their academy graduate is not for sale and they are close to agreeing a contract extension.
That said, reports claim that the Italian champions value Esposito at £73m, and that he is interested in moving to the Premier League at some point in his career but is not looking to move just yet.
Back in March, Esposito’s agent Mario Giuffredi suggested there was no chance the striker would play in north London, saying: ‘Despite Arsenal’s interest, our plans are clear.
‘He’s happy at Inter and will be the future of the Nerazzurri for the next ten years. The boy is in love with Inter.’
There’s not long to go before Arsenal’s first game of the season, with the Community Shield against Manchester City taking place next Sunday, August 16.
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