Exclusive: Arsenal eye swoop for €80m-rated Serie A star, with six-man striker shortlist revealed

Arsenal are planning a move for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic next summer as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his attack, sources have revealed to TEAMtalk.

The Gunners have set their sights on lifting the Premier League title this term after narrowly missing out to Manchester City in the last two campaigns.

But many have questioned whether Arsenal’s current striker options of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are prolific enough, compared to City superstar Erling Haaland.

Arsenal were heavily linked with Viktor Gyokeres in the summer but ultimately decided against a big-money move for the former Coventry City man, although they remain keen on him.

However, TEAMtalk sources say Vlahovic is on Arsenal’s ‘list of targets’ too and there is a good chance that he’ll be on the move next summer.

The North London club tracked Vlahovic closely in January but Juventus had no intention of allowing him to leave the club at the time.

Vlahovic’s contract is set to expire in 2026 and negotiations with Juventus over an extension are currently at a standstill. Therefore, they could be forced into selling him next summer, but they’ll still demand a big fee.

READ MORE: Ian Wright slams ‘coward’ Erling Haaland after Man City antics in Arsenal grudge match

Arsenal have six-man striker shortlist – sources

Vlahovic and Gyokeres aren’t the only strikers Arsenal are keeping tabs on. As we have previously reported, Lille’s Jonathan David, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram are also targets.

Arteta is looking for a prolific striker who can consistently score more than 20 goals per season and Arsenal view Vlahovic as a player who fits that profile.

They also believe that Vlahovic’s situation will evolve like that of Federico Chiesa, who sealed a cut-price move to Liverpool this summer.

Chiesa had just one year remaining on his contract at Juventus and the Turin-based side were forced into selling the talented winger.

Sources say that the Gunners are ‘certain’ that they could take advantage of Vlahovic’s situation and sign him for much lower than the €80m (£66.6m; $89m) price tag Juventus set in the summer.

Tomiyasu targeted by Italian duo; Trossard to get new contract

Meanwhile, Arsenal could lose full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu in January amid interest from Inter and Juventus.

The Japanese international has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates, with Jurrien Timber now ahead of him after recovering from his long-term injury.

Tomiyasu is yet to feature this season due to a knee issue and could find it difficult to fight his way back into the side once he returns.

Reports suggest that the Gunners will consider offers worth around £16.7m (€20m / US$22.2m) for Tomiyasu, a fee which would make them a small profit.

In other news, Leandro Trossard is reportedly in line for a new Arsenal contract after Arteta ‘blocked’ his potential move to Saudi club Al-Ittihad over the summer.

The Belgian international wasn’t interested in the move anyway despite Al-Ittihad offering to triple his current salary.

IN FOCUS: Kai Havertz vs Dusan Vlahovic

FULL BREAKDOWN: The key contract details of every Arsenal first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…