Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has addressed the club’s plan to bring in a new striker, suggesting that a new signing is close and may even be completed in the current transfer window.
The Gunners are also close to finalising the loan exit of young striker Folarin Balogun, who will complete a transfer to Championship side Middlesbrough in the coming days.
Arsenal Open to Signing New Striker in January Transfer Window
Mikel Arteta Confirms Plans to Bring in a New Forward Player
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the loan transfer of 20-year-old striker Folarin Balogun to Middlesbrough is in its final stages, with a medical scheduled to take place in the coming days.
Balogun’s exit would leave Mikel Arteta’s side a further player short in the forward positions, with Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out in the cold and having been stripped of the club’s captaincy due to his latest disciplinary breach.
As a result, Arsenal’s need to sign a new senior striker is clear, and Arteta has made no secret of the fact that the club are pursuing their options in the current market. He said: “We’re there. Whether we can accomplish that in January or the summer is a different question – but we are there. We are open [for January too].”
Jack Wilshere Will Not Re-Sign For Arsenal
Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has been linked with a return to the club as a free agent, having been training with the first-team in order to build his fitness.
Arteta has moved to pour cold water on those rumours, and looks to have definitively ruled out a return to the club for Wilshere. The Gunners boss said: “I was very clear with the situation with Jack and the role that he was going to have being around here and we continue the same way.”
Wilshere is looking for a new club as a free agent, and feels ready and able to make a return to the game, having last played for previous club Bournemouth until July 2021.
Main PhotoEmbed from Getty Images
