Fabrizio Romano has shed light on how and why Arsenal failed to sign a striker in the January window, though the Gunners have Alexander Isak and one other striker in their sights for the summer.
Arsenal fans across the globe were crying out for their club to sign a potent new striker in the winter window. Numerous frontmen were linked and Arsenal did lodge a bid totalling £60m for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
However, the timing of the bid – very soon after Aston Villa agreed to sell Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr – ensured Watkins was never going to receive the green light to leave.
RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko was another on Arsenal’s radar, while TEAMtalk has consistently reported Alexander Isak of Newcastle is Mikel Arteta’s dream target.
However, Newcastle value their superstar striker a long way north of £100m and Leipzig had zero intention of losing Sesko mid-season.
The end result saw another window come and go without Arsenal signing a striker. But speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirmed Isak and Sesko are now concrete Arsenal targets for the summer.
When revealing Chelsea postponed their plans to sign a new striker by six months, Romano added: “Arsenal did the same.
“Probably the most asked question of the deadline day: what are Arsenal going to do?
“What we can say is Arsenal considered several options, dream options like Benjamin Sesko, almost impossible options like Alexander Isak, who were never going to leave their clubs in January.
“But Arsenal understood it was almost impossible to make it happen now, so these two names – Isak and Sesko – remain for the summer.”
Encouragingly for Arsenal, The Daily Mail recently claimed there is a ‘strong chance’ Isak will leave Newcastle in the summer if the Magpies don’t secure Champions League qualification. Newcastle slipped to sixth position after Chelsea overcame West Ham on Monday night.
And according to The Sun, Newcastle are ‘lining up a move for Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert – in case they lose Alexander Isak in the summer.’
Kluivert has primarily played as a No 10 this season and not a striker. Nonetheless, he has 11 goals and four assists in 23 league matches for the Cherries this term.
His tally across all competitions stands at 12 goals, meaning the rapidly improving Dutchman has already produced his best single-season goals return with four months still to go. Kluivert’s previous high was 11 goals way back in the 2017/18 season with Ajax.
Interestingly, Justin’s legendary father, Patrick Kluivert, played for Newcastle towards the back end of his career during the 2004/25 campaign.
Romano went on to clarify how his situation in the January window unfolded and unlike Sesko and Isak, Watkins was not named as someone Arsenal will definitely pursue six months from now.
“Arsenal tried for Watkins a few days ago, but Aston Villa were furious [about the bid arriving] before the Champions League game [vs Celtic],” said Romano.
“Also the transfer fee: £60m add-ons included, were not enough to convince Aston Villa.
“Unai Emery wanted the player to stay and Jhon Duran going to Al-Nassr also had an impact. For Villa, money was no longer needed.”
Latest Arsenal news – Nico Williams…
In other news, FootballTransfers state Arsenal also intend to sign an explosive new left winger next summer, with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams a wanted man.
Arsenal are reportedly ready to ‘smash the Nico Williams release clause’ by paying above and beyond his asking price to secure his signing on more favourable terms – and over a longer period – to ensure the move keeps them on the right side of Profit and Sustainability Rules.
And with Athletic Bilbao not in a position to turn down such a hefty offer, there is a growing feeling that Arsenal will finally land their man later in 2025.
Furthermore, the report claimed Arsenal have been further boosted by the fact that Williams is ‘ready to accept the Gunners’ offer in the summer’, with the Spanish contingent in the squad ‘vital in his thinking’.
Aside from manager Mikel Arteta who is Spanish, Williams’ fellow countrymen, David Raya and Mikel Merino, are also at The Emirates.
Another Spaniard, Martin Zubimendi, is also expected to join Arsenal in the summer as a sizeable upgrade on Jorginho who looks to be heading back to Brazil.
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