5 Arsenal striker transfer targets to watch during international break

Less than a week into the international break and Arsenal have already been linked with players totaling a staggering £600m in transfer fees*. It’s little surprise, as without domestic football taking place clubs have the chance to truly hone their sights in on potential targets.

Depending on personal opinion, just how many players will depart north London this summer ranges anywhere from five to fifteen, while factoring in who can realistically be moved on and that figure can alter further.

Whatever the outcome with players making way, others will have to be brought in. Across the board Arsenal are in need of reinforcements, from goalkeeper to creative midfielder, with Edu and co set for a fair few all-nighters.

At centre-forward is where it might get interesting.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

5 Arsenal striker transfer targets to watch during international break

Eddie Nketiah can’t get a sniff in the first team, nor can Folarin Balogun, with the pair seemingly set for the exit door this summer. Nketiah may be kept on with a new deal and a loan, but it appears unlikely, while the Balogun mess looks irreparable.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is on a long deal and is the captain, thus he isn’t going anywhere even if fan criticism reaches unbearable and unjust levels.

As with Alexandre Lacazette, the 12 months left to run on his deal come the summer and with his 30’s approaching, the opportunity to cash in is no better than now. Well, not entirely true, as last year would’ve been more financially alluring.

There has been a twist on that front as Mikel Arteta signals his intent to offer the Frenchman a new deal, yet with nothing cut and dry, options need to be sounded out. With the international break on, what better time to have a look at targets than now? Here are five of them.

*this figure is entirely made up

Donyell Malen – PSV Eindhoven & Netherlands

Someone tipped as being ‘one for the future’, the rapid rise of Donyell Malen into Dutch international has caught the attentions of sides across the continent, with many keeping their eyes peeled on his performances during this international break.

He’s someone familiar to those from north London, having been snapped up by Ajax from Arsenal’s clutches after not being given the assurances he was after in the youth sides. Malen never made a competitive senior appearance for the Gunners during his two years at the club, only featuring once in a pre-season tour.

Utilised as a winger at Arsenal, since moving to PSV Eindhoven he’s been transformed as a centre-forward, scoring 51 goals and registering 22 assists in 110 matches. He’s only 19 years old.

In terms of style, he’s about as direct as they come.

Malen thrives on putting central defenders in compromising situations, either by dropping off and then turning on the afterburners inviting a ball through or by standing on the shoulder knowing his blistering pace will win the eventual foot race.

His dribbling ability has come on leaps and bounds, so too his physical strength, both vital attributes in a centre-forward.

Is he what Arsenal need? Having let him go and needing to pay a handsome fee to bring him back, adding to his lack of experience in the Premier League, they may feel he’s not the one. However, his talent is unmissable and the Gunners are joined with Liverpool in keeping tabs on him.