Arsenal in race against time to complete striker transfer

SUDDENLY there’s a new urgency to Arsenal’s long-running manhunt for a centre-forward.

Fixture release day has handed Mikel Arteta’s eternal bridesmaids trips to Old Trafford and Anfield before the transfer deadline, followed by clashes with Manchester City and Newcastle in September.

It means Arsenal need to get hitched with a new striker - and fast.

Liverpool, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs have all been busy in the early days of the summer market, yet all has been quiet at Arsenal - runners-up for three seasons in a row.

While Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi and Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga are expected to arrive at the Emirates soon, Arsenal are in desperate need of a frontman.

It’s a tale as old as Arteta’s five-and-a-half-year reign and the Spaniard has made no secret of his desire to capture an out-and-out goalscorer, after Kai Havertz’s injury in January kyboshed his slim hopes of challenging Liverpool for the title last term.

New Emirates sporting director Andrea Berta is prioritising a striker and has several plates spinning - with RB Leipzig hitman Benjamin Sesko and Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokores both leading targets.

There’s a very high chance that Swede Gyokores will play in the Manchester United versus Arsenal fixture on the opening weekend of the season - but for which side?

Ruben Amorim hopes his close links with Gyokeres will lure the former Coventry man to Old Trafford - despite the absence of European football for only the second time in 35 years.

Meanwhile, Leipzig are playing hardball over a fee for 22-year-old Slovenian forward Sesko - with an eye-watering £85million asking price.

When fixtures for the new campaign are released, it’s always worth pointing out that - yep - every Premier League club will play every other club at home and away.

But Arsenal’s fixture list is seriously front-loaded. While United may no longer be the United of old, the first Sunday of the season is not an ideal time to visit, with new signings and (perhaps short-lived) optimism in the air.

A trip to champions to Liverpool on the weekend before the window shuts on September 1 is formidable.

Then comes a September which brings from City and Nottingham Forest, as well as a Champions League opener, before the long haul to St James’ Park - where the Gunners were beaten twice last season.

Arteta will be dreading the idea of a scramble for a striker on deadline day - and with a winger also wanted, to challenge Gabriel Martinelli - the Gunners boss is keen to get both on board before the pre-season trip to Singapore and Hong Kong in late July.

After five seasons without silverware, Arteta’s need to hit the ground running is clear, if Arsenal are to clinch a first title in 22 years.

Berta is determined not to fall into the trap of singling out one striker, missing out and leaving Arteta to settle for what he has got - namely Havertz, who may well be more effective as a No 10, and Gabriel Jesus, still recovering from an ACL injury.   

Gyokores and Sesko are not the only men on Berta’s hitlist - although Arteta’s ideal signing, Alexander Isak, looks out of reach now that Newcastle are back in the Champions League.

And Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins does not represent value for money at around £80m for a man who turns 30 this year.

Arsenal are free to spend big, under PSR regulations, this summer.

Yet if they land an expensive striker and a winger - with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon all on Arsenal’s radar - then sales may be needed.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is surplus to requirements, while fellow defenders Jakub Kiwior and Riccardo Calafiori could be off-loaded.