Mikel Arteta may have to choose between three world-class strikers this summer as he bids to land the firepower to take Arsenal to the Premier League title next season. For the third campaign in a row, the Gunners were runners-up in 2024/25, finishing 10 points behind champions Liverpool.
The Spanish boss has long been criticised for failing to sign an out-and-out goalscorer since taking over from Unai Emery in late December 2019. Last season, Kai Havertz topped the Premier League goalscoring for the Gunners with just nine. The club have already taken steps to address the issue this summer and are in talks with the representatives of Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko.
Sporting CP striker Gyokeres, 27, reportedly favours a move to north London but is in dispute with his club over his transfer valuation. RB Leipzig man Sesko, 22, nearly joined Arsenal last summer and is also said to want a big-money move.
Both players are expected to cost more than £60million. However, according to The Mirror, Aston Villa man Ollie Watkins is also ‘keen’ on a move to the Gunners.
Arsenal made a bid for the England international late in this year’s January transfer window. However, the timing of the attempt was strange, with the approach made in the same week that their rivals had sold forward Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. Had they made an offer earlier, an agreement would have been possible.
Watkins, 29, has since gone on to become Villa’s all-time leading Premier League scorer. However, despite the sale of Duran, he was still controversially left out of Unai Emery’s starting XI for both of the Champions League quarter-final legs with Paris Saint-Germain.
The striker later admitted to being “fuming” at the decision, and Arsenal may now have the opportunity to capitalise on his discontent. Unlike Gyokeres and Sesko, Watkins is proven in England’s top flight and has 87 goals in 223 appearances for Villa.
However, his fee is likely to be higher than Arsenal’s two other targets. Watkins is contracted to his current club until the summer of 2028, and with no reported release clause, there is no pressure on Villa to negotiate a cut-price deal.
