Arsenal are expected to sign a new striker this summer.
The Gunners have a fantastic team right now. We’ve scored the most goals, conceded the least and have arguably been the best team in the Premier League.
However, what Manchester City and Liverpool both have is a player who can guarantee over 25 goals a season for them in all competitions.
Unfortunately, Arsenal don’t have that, which means it is likely that Mikel Arteta will dive into the market for a new number nine before the start of next season.
The North Londoners have been linked with a number of strikers over the last few months.
Here’s the latest on one of them.
New Dusan Vlahovic transfer update emerges amid Arsenal links
Dusan Vlahovic has been on Arsenal’s radar for a long time.
The Serbian was Mikel Arteta’s top target to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back in January 2022. The striker was still at Fiorentina at the time.
Arsenal tried really hard to get him then and even made him a contract offer.
However, Vlahovic, for whatever reason, rejected a move to the Emirates Stadium and joined Juventus instead in a deal worth £66.6 million (Sky Sports).
Vlahovic’s time in Turin hasn’t completely gone to plan.
TuttoSport claim that Juventus are not actively thinking of selling Vlahovic, but if a big offer arrives this summer, they could change their mind.
The report then reveals that Arsenal are still monitoring the Serbian.
It has been claimed that after the Gunners’ title race with Manchester City comes to an end, Arsenal ‘could divert all their attention to Vlahovic’.
READ MORE: Forget Dusan Vlahovic, Arsenal urged to make ‘perfect’ £100m striker transfer priority
Dusan Vlahovic’s stats at Juventus are underwhelming
If Arsenal sign a new striker this summer, he should be someone prolific.
Dusan Vlahovic is an interesting option. The Serbian’s talent is unquestionable and he definitely has an eye for a goal. He has been compared by fans to Robin van Persie.
However, at Juventus, he hasn’t quite been able to score as frequently as he did at Fiorentina.
In his first six months in Turin, Vlahovic scored just nine goals. In the following season, he managed only 14 in 42 appearances, which is not a great return.
Vlahovic has been slightly better this campaign, scoring 17 times in 34 appearances.
That, however, is still not on the same level as someone like Erling Haaland, which makes us wonder if Arsenal should be looking at a striker with a better record than the Juventus man.
However, if Mikel Arteta thinks Vlahovic is the one for Arsenal, we’re not going to argue with that. The Arsenal boss’ talent ID is second to none.