Arsenal are likely to emerge as the potential beneficiaries of a star international forward when the transfer window reopens in around a week’s time, with Mikel Arteta in need of fresh attacking options after multiple injury blows.
Arsenal tipped to move for new winger after Saka and Sterling injuries
Following their imperious 5-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last weekend, Arteta was dealt some less-than-ideal news regarding two big-name forwards in his squad.
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The Gunners are putting plans in motion.
Bukayo Saka looked a frustrated figure in south London on Saturday, forced off with a hamstring injury in the 24th minute against Palace, and it has since come to light that the 24-year-old is set for “many weeks” on the sidelines.
|
Arsenal’s next five Premier League games |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich Town (home) |
December 27 |
|
Brentford (away) |
January 1 |
|
Brighton (away) |
January 4 |
|
Tottenham (home) |
January 15 |
|
Aston Villa (home) |
January 18 |
To make matters even worse for Arteta, summer signing Raheem Sterling will also be out for a lengthy period after sustaining a knee problem, with Arsenal now having to make do with vastly reduced attacking options in the wide area.
“It’s not looking good,” said Arteta in a latest injury update on Saka.
“He’s going to be out for many weeks.”
There are even suggestions that Saka could be out until March with a torn hamstring, which would be a hammer blow for Arsenal, who were also forced to cope without club captain and chief creator Martin Odegaard for months earlier on in the campaign.
In light of this terrible news for the Gunners, who are attempting to keep up with current Premier League title favourites Liverpool at the top of the table, it is believed they could bring forward their plans to sign a new winger.
Saka and Sterling’s injuries are allegedly forcing Arteta to pull a “major U-turn” over bringing in a wide attacker this January, and we saw similar reports when the former injured himself during England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley in October.
Football Insider claimed back then that Arsenal may explore a quick January deal for Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo, so this may well be the case once more, given Saka’s injury looks far more serious this time round.
Barcelona’s Dani Olmo is now among the names linked with a January switch to Arsenal, and out-of-favour £203,000-per-week PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani could be floated in Arsenal’s direction as well.
Arsenal “likely” to be offered PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani
That is according to reliable journalist Simon Collings, who writes for Standard Sport that Arsenal are “likely” to be offered Kolo Muani on a loan deal in January.
The 26-year-old was tipped to step into Kylian Mbappe’s shoes at the Parc des Princes, following the latter’s departure to Real Madrid, but Luis Enrique hasn’t called upon him quite as much as most expected.
His lack of consistent opportunities has opened the door to a potential mid-season departure, and Arsenal are one of many clubs who could be handed an opportunity to bring in Kolo Muani on a temporary deal.
Despite not being a regular at PSG, the former Eintracht Frankfurt sensation remains a star for France at international level.
He burst on to the scene for Les Bleus at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scoring their semi-final opener against Morocco and bagging an assist in the final against Argentina, with manager Didier Deschamps including him in every single squad since then.
Kolo Muani has bagged three goals and an assist over their last five UEFA Nations League games, with Deschamps still highly favouring the forward regardless of his PSG woes.