Arsenal think £130k-per-week striker wants to join as they prepare new bid

Arsenal chiefs are convinced that a forward is keen to join them before January transfer deadline day, with the Gunners ready to make another winter window bid in an effort to acquire his services before the clock runs out.

Mikel Arteta chasing last minute January striker signing at Arsenal

Manager Mikel Arteta has made no secret of the club’s desire to bring in another forward, after his squad suffered crippling injuries to prolific attackers Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka, leaving them with just Kai Havertz as their sole senior striker.

Related

Arsenal ask Bayern Munich about signing £40m striker who Mikel Arteta likes

The Spaniard is a real admirer.

They’ve scatter-gunned the market in search of proven quality, as Arteta looks to better their chances of catching Liverpool in the Premier League title race. Arsenal even made contact over a potential deal for Jhon Duran, but the Colombian is now on his way to Al-Nassr in a mega-money Saudi move.

They were also rumoured to be weighing up a winter swoop for 2024 summer target Benjamin Sesko, but the RB Leipzig starlet apparently won’t be going anywhere before deadline day, according to the club’s sporting director, Marcel Schafer.

Following that development, Arsenal have begun to throw their hat in the ring for Mathys Tel, after the Bayern Munich striker decided to quit the Allianz Arena (Fabrizio Romano).

Arsenal have asked Bayern about signing Tel, but the Frenchman isn’t their only late target, with Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins subject to a rejected offer from north London.

Arteta’s side are reliably believed to have submitted a £60 million offer for the £130,000-per-week striker, who’s scored 11 goals and provided another nine assists in all competitions under Unai Emery this term.

However, the Villans snubbed this approach out of hand, and it was cheekily right on the eve of their Champions League win over Celtic on Wednesday.

Now, it appears Arsenal are planning to try again for the England international.

Arsenal preparing fresh Watkins bid after receiving encouragement

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, writing for The Boot Room, Arsenal are preparing a second bid for Watkins, and they’re convinced that the 29-year-old is keen on moving to the Emirates Stadium in a bit of encouragement for the club.

However, one major roadblock still comes in the form of Villa, who have just lost Duran to Al-Nassr and certainly won’t want to weaken Emery any further by handing Watkins over to Arsenal so late in the window.

It would surely take a huge proposal to get Villa even thinking about offloading both Duran and Watkins in the same window, but if they somehow become tempted, there is little denying he’d be a stellar signing for Arteta

“He is a terrific player – he has shown that for club and country now,” said ex-Man United defender Phil Jones.

“What I like about him is that he can come short and offer that dynamic, but he can also go in behind. He is a real handful and he is quite comfortable playing on the shoulder of the defender.”