Exactly twelve months ago, Arsenal were two points off the top of the Premier League table and gearing up for a title race run-in that they hoped would see them end their 20-year wait to be crowned champions.
This dream was dashed by Manchester City, who claimed a fourth straight title on the final day of the season, as Mikel Arteta and company had confidence that they would again be in the mix the following season.
With a third of the campaign to go however, Arsenal find themselves 11 points behind leaders Liverpool and their hopes of pulling together a stirring comeback have been compromised by a series of injuries, notably up front, where Kai Havertz’s season-ending hamstring issue has left them with no available strikers.
Arsenal could reignite striker interest
The team looked to address this lack of depth in the January transfer window by making a speculative bid for Aston Villa’s England forward Ollie Watkins, ranked at no.10 in FourFourTwo's list of the best strikers in the world right now, only to be knocked back, as the window closed with no new arrivals.
Midfield summer signing Mikel Merino has played as an emergency striker, but the importance of bringing a new forward in this summer has been underlined by the Gunners’ current injury crisis.
According to a report in TuttoJuve, Arsenal may now reignite their long-standing interest in Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer.
The Serbian forward has emerged as one of the best strikers in Serie A in recent seasons, netting 49 times during a three-and-a-half year stint with Fiorentina, before his January 2022 move to the Turin side, where he has scored 55 goals in 133 appearances.
He would then go on to be ranked at No.55 in FourFourTwo’s list of the 100 best players in the world in 2023.
The report claims that Juventus are willing to sell Vlahavic - whose current deal at the club expires in 2026 - for a cut-price fee of €35 million, which has put the likes of Manchester United and Atletico Madrid on alert, as well as the Gunners, who previously attempted to land the 25-year-old in 2022, only to be pipped by Juve.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Vlahovic - who is valued at €60m by Transfermarkt - would be something of a no-brainer if Juve are willing to let him go for a fee of €35m in an attempt to cash in before he enters the final year of his contracy.
As well as adding depth to their striker corps, the powerful forward would give Arsenal’s attack another dimension, with his size and strength ideal for the physical nature of the Premier League.
