Arsenal are monitoring four players ahead of the January transfer window despite having a limited budget available.
The Gunners have made a strong start to the Premier League season and sit joint top of the table alongside rivals Tottenham after eight matches. The 1-0 win over Manchester City before the international break shows the progress they have made, but Mikel Arteta knows better than most that the most difficult part of the season is still to come.
Mirror Football understands that Arteta has made Toney his number-one transfer target for January and is determined to get Arsenal to the front of the queue ahead of Chelsea and Tottenham. Toney will return from his betting ban in the New Year and Brentford are prepared to sell, but only if their £60million price tag is met.
That might well be a problem for Arsenal, with The Athletic reporting that there ‘isn’t much budget or desire to do significant business’ in the upcoming window. The Gunners’ financial position is demonstrated by the fact they signed David Raya on an initial loan with an option to buy from Brentford in August.
Raya has now surpassed Aaron Ramsdale as Arteta’s first-choice goalkeeper and will cost Arsenal £27m to sign permanently. That signing will be a priority for Arsenal, but there are other positions they wish to strengthen if the chance arises.
A centre-forward like Toney is top of the list, with competition needed for Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. The Gunners are also keen to sign a back-up to Bukayo Saka, who has recently struggled with injuries, due in part to his huge workload. German newspaper Bild reports that Arsenal are among the sides tracking Dani Olmo,
who fits their brief as an intelligent and positionally flexible player. Olmo, 25, is under contract with Leipzig until June 2027 and won’t come cheap.Meanwhile, Arsenal are also monitoring Wolves star Pedro Neto, who has one goal and five assists in eight Premier League games this season. The 23-year-old winger signed a contract extension with Wolves in March 2022 and is tied to the club until 2027.
Mirror Football understands that Arsenal are long-term admirers of the Portuguese winger, who has 12 goals and 18 assists in 119 appearances for Wolves altogether. Wolves are understandably keen to hold onto their star player and a January move appears out of the question.
Mirror Football reported in September that Arsenal were among the clubs keeping a close eye on Ousmane Dembele. The France star joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in the summer and it is understood that it is unlikely PSG would be willing to sanction a move so early in his career with the club.
Arsenal are back in action in the Premier League on Saturday, travelling across London to face Chelsea. Arteta has kept his cards close to his chest over the fitness of William Saliba and Saka, who both sat out of the international break due to injuries.
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