Arsenal: 3 strikers linked ahead of transfer deadline

2. Dusan Vlahovic – Fiorentina

It’s hard to ignore Dusan Vlahovic, and that’s not because he stands at over 6’2″, more the fact that he netted 21 goals in 37 Serie A outings last season at the tender age of 21.

What is also worth noting is that his club, Fiorentina, are desperately poor. They finished seven points off of relegation and won only nine matches all last season.

The Serbian striker is someone who Arsenal were linked with back in March, and at the time it was noted that he is ‘the right profile‘ the club should be targeting. Once again he’s been linked, this time with the more reliable Gianluca Di Marzio.

Interest in the forward also comes in the form of Atletico Madrid and Tottenham, although the latter see the 21-year-old as a Harry Kane replacement, not a partner. A move will cost the buying club heavily with La Viola said to be holding out for €60m (£50m), although with two years left on his deal and Fiorentina, like all clubs, feeling the pinch, there could be some wiggle room.

Vlahovic is a striker who encapsulates many of the traits Arsenal require in a striker: his all-round game is refined with the dashes of sheer centre-forward brutality, as he links play but boasts an array of finishing techniques with his left foot that make him a penalty box predator.

Lacking a big, aerially threatening and bruising No. 9 with commanding physical presence, Arsenal are no longer a side that the opposition fear. The forward line, for all its experience, doesn’t cause defenders to tremble. Vlahovic would bring that.

Being only 21 and with only one season of top level mastery behind him, the fee in question also makes the Serbian international a risky purchase. Boasting all the tools to be a star (and he will be) Arsenal already have one Balogun on their books to develop, and the need for a more established Premier League ready option is largely why the next link won’t die down.