Mikel Arteta on Arsenal transfer red alert after £22m striker January bid launched
As other Premier League clubs appear busy in the January transfer window to actively try and sign an attacker, Arsenal are yet to show their hand. Mikel Arteta has been hit by several injury blows over these last few weeks, with the majority of those arriving at the top end of the pitch.
Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka have all suffered differing issues while William Saliba has also picked up a minor problem. Although Nwaneri's now back in training, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also still unavailable which prompted Arteta to make a telling admission.
"I don't know how many teams are playing at this level in the league, but when you look at the bench, probably you would say, I think we are very short," he admitted after the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. Prior to that clash at Emirates Stadium, the Arsenal boss had seemingly already made it clear he wanted reinforcements.
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Speaking on the absence of Jesus and Saka, he said: "We have lost two massive players for us in the front-line and we need some support up there." Although Arteta delivered such a message, the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, Nico Williams and several others have only remained as targets.
Brentford's Yoane Wissa was another striker to emerge of interest to the Gunners and a major twist regarding his future has now taken place. According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, Nottingham Forest submitted a £22million bid to sign him but the offer is far below the Bees' valuation.
Given Nuno Espirito Santo's side clearly want to sign the 28-year-old, Arsenal may have to move quickly if they ultimately do want to bring him to north London. Elsewhere, West Ham United submitted a lucrative £57million proposal for Jhon Duran to Aston Villa, but it is expected to be rejected, as per The Athletic - once again.
With two Premier League rivals making some big moves in the hopes of bolstering their squad, Arsenal are at risk of being left behind and the pressure could well now be on to sign a new attacker in the next 12 days.
