Arsenal have held talks for Victor Osimhen, with Mikel Arteta prepared to make huge statement with physical striker: report

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on August 12, 2023 in London, England.
(Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has held talks with Victor Osimhen's representatives, over a move to the Emirates Stadium. 

That's according to one source, who claims that the prolific Nigerian is one of several targets for Arteta in his search for a physical striker. Despite being blessed with an array of options at No.9 including Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Kai Havertz, Arsenal are still being linked with more forwards.

And Napoli star Osimhen is the pick of the bunch, with Arteta confirmed to be a fan by journalist and author, Charles Watts

Victor Osimhen of SSC Napoli looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League group A match between SSC Napoli and Liverpool FC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on September 7, 2022 in Naples, Italy.

Victor Osimhen is on Arsenal's radar (Image credit: Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

According to Watts, Osimhen's agent travelled to the Gunners' London Colney training base to hold talks over a move over the summer of 2022. Arteta opted for Jesus instead – but Watts insists that the next priority for transfer is the frontline.

"[Osimhen's] about to sign that new contract with Napoli," he claims. "I presume there’s some sort of agreement in that new contract that he will be able to go if a certain fee is met, but that is going to be a very, very big fee."

The 24-year-old moved to southern Italy in 2020 for a fee believed to be around €75 million from Lille. With the French outfit believed to hold a significant sell-on clause in any move that Osimhen makes next, Scudetto holders Napoli will have to sell for a big fee just to break even.

Ivan Toney

Ivan Toney could also be of interest to Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)

Watts also lists Brentford's Ivan Toney as a potential new striker at the Emirates Stadium next summer. 

Transfermarkt values Osimhen to be worth €120m.

More Arsenal stories

Mikel Arteta has revealed the strange marriage metaphor he's used to motivate Kai Havertz. The Basque boss used another bizarre analogy recently to explain his tactics against Manchester City.

And the Gunners boss has had to defend Havertz already this season, notably after the 2-2 draw against Fulham. Meanwhile, Brentford striker Ivan Toney has revealed he would be interested in a move to Arsenal in future.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.