SETTABLOID

Paul Merson has explained why be he believes Arsenal should try and sign Harry Kane in the summer transfer window.

The Gunners were heavily linked with signing a striker during the January transfer window but opted not to sign a centre forward. Mathys Tel, Ollie Watkins, Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres, and Victor Osimhen were just some of the names credited as potential targets for Arsenal over the last few weeks.

Kane left Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023 to complete a £100million move to Bayern Munich. The England international has since gone on to score 72 goals in 73 appearances in for the Bundesliga giants, including 28 in all competitions this season.

Reports earlier this week claimed that Kane may have a release clause in his contract at Bayern, which has reportedly put some Premier League clubs on alert. There have been suggestions that the aforementioned clause may drop to £54million in the summer, leading to speculation that he could return to English football after two years in Germany.

Merson has frequently argued that Arsenal should try and sign Newcastle United star Alexander Isak this summer. The former Gunners star has now explained why a move for Kane may be tempting for his old club, despite the striker’s connection with Tottenham.

Arsenal will have money to burn this summer for a major signing after Fabrizio Romano revealed their reasoning for shelving a January deal for Matheus Cunha – and what comes next for the Wolves forward.

Cunha was chased by a number of clubs this winter, with Arsenal one of his main admirers. However, he ended up signing a new contract with Wolves instead. Arsenal came away empty handed, failing to add a single first-team player to their squad.

That was despite injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka in their attack, meaning their options have become more limited in an area they already needed to upgrade.

And while that stance may have been disheartening for Arsenal fans, Romano has hinted that it was with a long-term view in mind – so they can sign an out-and-out striker for big money this summer.

Injuries are never a good thing for a football team to deal with and, for Arsenal, that is no different with the news that Gabriel Martinelli is set for an unwanted spell on the side-lines.

Martinelli suffered a hamstring injury during the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in midweek. The Brazil forward was substituted midway through the first half and he’s now expected to be side-lined for around a month in recovery.

Mikel Arteta has already been forced to deal with several injury concerns this campaign, with Martinelli the latest name added to the treatment room. Bukayo Saka remains unavailable with a hamstring injury – while Gabriel Jesus, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also out-of-action still.

Before Martinelli’s injury, Arsenal had been linked with several players who could have been signed to strengthen their forward options due to the players that are unavailable. The Gunners opted not to make any signings during the January transfer window, meaning Arteta will have to look at his existing options in the Arsenal squad to solve his latest problem.

One player who will hope to make the most of that opportunity to have more minutes is Ethan Nwaneri. Arteta replaced the injured Martinelli with the 17-year-old in the defeat at St James’ Park despite having Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling on the substitutes bench.

Nwaneri has been one of the success stories of Arsenal’s term, so far, progressing from an academy prospect to a regular member of the first-team squad – in the Premier League and Champions League. It was only last week that the teenager scored the first top-flight goal of his career in the 5-1 win over Manchester City.

Martinelli typically plays on the left wing for Arsenal – but Nwaneri’s favoured position is usually on the right. The injury to Martinelli leaves Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Nwaneri and Sterling as their only senior forward options.

Given the injury to Martinelli, Arteta could be inclined to go with Nwaneri-Havertz-Trossard as his first-choice front three for the next few games. Sterling is also likely to get minutes, too, but the substitution against Newcastle may hint that Arteta views Nwaneri as being ahead of the Chelsea loanee in terms of team selection.

One Arsenal star who is very important to the team and Mikel Arteta is expected to change shirt number at the end of the 2024/25 season.

David Raya, who is currently Arsenal’s number 22, has been one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players this season. The goalkeeper has played every single minute in the Premier League so far this campaign.

He’s made 24 league appearances, conceded 22 goals and kept eight clean sheets. While in the Champions League he started all but one of the eight group stage matches, conceding only two goals and keeping five clean sheets.

He’s been an ever present starter in the Arsenal team this season, which is a rare find with the amount of injuries the club have had to deal with.

Although he made an error last time out against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup which lead to the second goal, generally he’s one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers.

It’s one of the main reasons why he’s expected to change shirt numbers ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. At the beginning of the season Aaron Ramsdale was still at Arsenal and he held the number one shirt.

However with the England international now at Southampton, David Raya is expected to take the number one shirt at the end of the season. I’m sure many fans will agree the Spaniard deserves it.

At 29-years-old, he’s still got a long way to go in his career as a goalkeeper and no doubt there’s a chance he could be the Arsenal number one for the next five years under Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal are the second-highest scorers in the Premier League, yet they have a striker problem. The Gunners pumped Manchester City for five last weekend to put three points between themselves in second and the chasing Nottingham Forest.

It seems foolish to suggest the Gunners are lacking in the forward department, but it is true. Mikel Arteta said he wanted a new signing in January, but did not get one.

Injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus have left Arsenal short up top, with Kai Havertz often hit and miss in front of goal. He is the club’s top scorer in the Premier League, but he has not made it to double figures yet with ten clubs with players already on double figures for the campaign.

Without Saka and Jesus, who was just coming into form prior to his season-ending injury, Havertz, alongside Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri, will battle it out for the three spots in the forward line. There is not much room for change or variation – especially with a new worry over Martinelli after the Newcastle clash.

The desire for a new forward stems not only from the fact that players are unavailable, but big chances too often go begging. Arsenal may be second in the table but they are six points adrift of Liverpool and that could be nine points if the reds win their Merseyside Derby game in hand next Wednesday.

And there are five players who are hurting Mikel Arteta and Arsenal when it comes to those chances. Havertz has been the biggest culprit so far this season, with 2.76 goals missing according to Understat. The German has hit nine goals in the Premier League but has an xG (expected goals) of 11.76.

Arsenal have had a frustrating time with injuries during the ongoing campaign.

The club have had to cope with the absence of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus over recent weeks.

Mikel Arteta has been handed another Arsenal injury blow with Gabriel Martinelli set for a spell on the sidelines. Despite both Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka picking up long-term injuries, the Gunners did not welcome any new signings in the January transfer window.

There was interest in both Ollie Watkins and Mathys Tel, among others, though the latter ended up joining Tottenham. Watkins, meanwhile, who was the subject of a January bid from Emirates Stadium, remained at Aston Villa after Jhon Duran was sold to Al-Nassr.

Attention will now seemingly turn to the summer window, with a huge one expected in north London. However, signing players may not be the only task, with a fresh update on Real Madrid’s pursuit of William Saliba coming to light.

The Gunners could also revisit a deal for one player they were said to have bid for during the winter window, but not Watkins.

Saliba to Madrid update

Madrid are prepared to make Saliba the most expensive defender in football history. The Frenchman has been linked with a move to Los Blancos for some time, and their ongoing injury crisis at the back means it is very likely they will pursue a deal.

January bid for Torres rejected

As per Spanish outlet El Nacional, Barcelona rejected a £16.7million (€20m) for Ferran Torres from Arsenal in January, while approaches from Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan were also turned down.

The former Manchester City man has struggled for consistent minutes due to injury while also having to compete with Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal for a spot in the starting XI.