Arsenal make shock striker transfer enquiry

Arsenal are in the midst of fixture drama with their match against Tottenham postponed despite having just the solitary Covid case in the squad, which has briefly taken attention away from the transfer market.

With just one senior midfielder for the next two matches following Granit Xhaka’s red card against Liverpool, a move has been made to sign Arthur on loan from Juventus. It’s a deal that looks like it might come off, with the Italian side just waiting on signing a replacement before sanctioning the deal.

It’s in the striker position where other work is being undertaken, with the pursuit of Dusan Vlahovic causing its own drama as agent demands and Fiorentina’s willingness to sell this window setting up an interesting saga.

Do they have other targets for striker? They appear to, with links to Alexander Isak, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jonathan David not going anywhere in case the Vlahovic deal falls through.

Arsenal make shock striker transfer enquiry for Diego Costa as Mikel Arteta eyes reinforcements in January transfer window

But how about this; as per Goal, Arsenal have reached out to Diego Costa to gauge his interest in a possible transfer.

Really.

The former Chelsea striker left Atletico Mineiro earlier in January following a short six month stint with the club and is now on the lookout for a new side this window as a free agent. Sides in Spain and Brazil are reported to be interested, but Arsenal are said to have also made contact to know whether the 33-year-old would be interested in a shock return to the Premier League.

Is this a wind-up? Remember when it happened before? Are Arsenal just rubbing in the fact that because their game against Spurs has been postponed due to a lack of players by making it out as if Costa is the answer to their woes?

Any player in Brazil immediately draws up connections with Edu, who has plenty of ties in his native homeland, but of all the names to have appeared this one stick out like a sore thumb.

Supporters would vehemently oppose the idea given the striker’s track record and ‘unfriendly’ reputation, not to mention a history of unpleasant run-ins with Arsenal in the past. He is also 33 years old now, a former Blue, and has been dreadful in front of goal ever since leaving Stamford Bridge.

It’s a hard pass from everyone with an Arsenal affiliation. You’d like to think from Mikel Arteta too, which is why this can’t possibly be true.

Can’t it?