Arsenal lose another striker transfer target in January window

The Monday deadline for Arsenal to secure their targets this winter is drawing ever closer and as of yet they have not entered into serious negotiations for any player.

Dusan Vlahovic was the one they pushed for most, but his heart was set on Serie A and a move to Juventus is due to be finalised in the coming days. As far as strikers go there are others for Arsenal to choose from on their list, one of whom is Alexander Isak.

With a £75m release clause at Real Sociedad there would be no need for negotiations, although news of the player holding reservations about joining Arsenal is a killer blow to the Gunners’ chances of signing him.

Just like with Vlahovic, they need full commitment from anyone they sign. To paraphrase Mikel Arteta, ‘any player who needs convincing is not a good starting point’.

Arsenal lose another striker transfer target in January window with Luka Jovic loan move from Real Madrid no longer an option

One avenue to head down is the loan market, one that historically hasn’t served Arsenal too well until the trend was bucked last winter with Martin Odegaard’ six-month loan. That deal worked out superbly with the Norwegian joining full-time in the summer and becoming an integral part of the team.

One of his former teammates, Luka Jovic, had been offered to Arsenal as a potential loan signing, reported James Benge. A certified stop-gap deal, the Serbian would have plugged a hole for the club until the end of the campaign when they could either return to their long-term targets or bring the former Eintracht Frankfurt man in as a try-before-you-buy type move.

But almost as soon as that offer was made, it’s been taken off the table.

As per Jose Felix Diaz of Marca, Real Madrid have retracted their offer. It needs noting that Jovic was never one of the Gunners’ own transfer options, and instead a player offered to them this month, but with their main targets dwindling before their eyes he could have presented a viable solution even if just to bolster the numbers.

However, while Karim Benzema’s short term hamstring injury has prompted the change of heart, initial fears of a lengthy period on the sidelines have been allayed with the Frenchman possibly back as soon as their next match in early February. There could be room for another turnaround.

Would Jovic have solved Arsenal’s issues? Hard to tell. There would certainly be better options out there than a player whose career has stagnated and gone backwards since moving to La Liga. There would, however, also be far worse ones.