According to reports, Arsenal and Chelsea, their rivals in London, are vying for the signature of Victor Osimhen, a striker for Napoli.
The Nigerian’s goal-scoring prowess for the Italian champions has put him on the radar of other prestigious teams.
Arsenal leads the Premier League by a point, but the game could end with something that resembles the Gunners’ nightmare from the previous campaign, when they were ultimately defeated by a brilliant Manchester City team led by Pep Guardiola and were unable to win the league.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, however, is reportedly looking for a new striker who can average double figures every season and thinks Osimhen might be the right man among other candidates. Arteta may be inclined to believe his center-forwards have been a bit wobbly due to their inconsistency.
Reports of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner joining the Premier League in January have once again been downplayed by Italian writer and transfer market analyst Fabrizio Romano, who asserts that it would be very unlikely for a move of that size to happen at that point in the season.
“I’m aware there have been some reports linking Arsenal with Victor Osimhen, and this follows some outlets claiming the Napoli striker’s agent held talks with the Gunners around a year ago,” Romano was reported to have said by TEAMtalk.
“These connections are expected given that both Chelsea and Arsenal are known to be monitoring strikers for 2024.
“But it’s crucial to stress again how tough it is to take such connections into account for January because Napoli is adamant that they don’t want to sell him in the middle of the campaign.
“For the summer, anything can happen but it isn’t being decided now for sure.”
The striker from Nigeria, who joined Napoli in 2020 from Lille in France, has scored 65 goals in 112 games.
