Arsenal chief Edu compiles 10-man striker shortlist for summer transfer window

Arsenal are assessing their options for the summer transfer window, with a striker top of Mikel Arteta’s wish list.

The Gunners have been linked with signing a striker in the past two transfer windows, but – like most other Premier League sides – opted not to spend big in January, due in part to financial fair play considerations. Arsenal shelled out £105million to sign Declan Rice last summer and £65m for Kai Havertz and recorded a loss of £52.1m for the year up to May 31, 2023 in results released at the start of the month.

Arsenal could not afford to splash the cash to land a top-quality striker in January and, so far, that decision has been vindicated, with Arteta’s side banging in the goals in 2024. But regardless of how their 2023/24 campaign plays out, Arsenal want to bolster their options up front, with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah the only conventional centre-forwards at present.

The need is particularly acute given that Nketiah has been consistently linked with a move elsewhere, with Crystal Palace among the clubs interested. Brentford striker Ivan Toney is a long-term target for the Gunners, but they are conscious of getting dragged into a bidding war, with Thomas Frank placing a prohibitive £100m price tag on his star player.

Mirror Football understands that Arsenal have also scouted Benjamin Sesko, who has 11 goals in 34 games this season since swapping Red Bull Salzburg for RB Leipzig in the summer. But he is just one of a number of young strikers being assessed by sporting director Edu.

As football.london reports, Arsenal are one of many clubs eyeing up Viktor Gyokeres, who has been on fire since joining Sporting Lisbon from Coventry last summer. Gyokeres has a staggering 36 goals and 14 assists in 39 games