Arsenal open January talks with “dominant” £33m forward and contact club

Arsenal have opened talks with a “dominant” forward and contacted his club ahead of the looming January transfer window, with manager Mikel Arteta and co eyeing up a potential transfer opportunity for the winter.

Arsenal face Nottingham Forest in must-win game for Arteta

The Gunners are without a win in the Premier League since early October – a 3-1 victory over newly-promoted Southampton at the Emirates – and they’ve lost three out of their last four games in all competitions.

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A club on the verge of tempting him away.

It is a very worrying trend for Arsenal, who had been widely tipped as sure-fire favourites to clinch their first domestic title in over 20 years at the start of the campaign, and Arteta will be desperate to get his side back to winning ways.

Arsenal host Nuno Espirito Santo’s in-form Nottingham Forest this weekend, a team that have surprised everyone with their start to the 2024/2025 campaign, and their excellent form even sees them level on points with Arteta’s side heading into this encounter.

They’re no easy customers, and Arsenal will have to be at their imperious best, minus a few key personnel. Arteta is sweating on the fitness of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori, while Ben White could be out until 2025 after undergoing surgery on a knee problem.

Arsenal have been dealt consistent issues with injuries during the early stages of this season, which has threatened to derail their title hopes, with summer signing Mikel Merino and club captain Martin Odegaard also forced to sit out for long periods.

The January window represents a solution and potential weapon for Arteta to go out and seize more strength in depth for his squad. One player who has been regularly linked in the past week, via reports in the Spanish press, is Real Madrid playmaker Arda Güler.

The 19-year-old enjoyed a terrific final run of games towards the back end of 2023/2024, scoring five goals over Real’s last six La Liga matches on their run to the title, but Guler is struggling to cement a consistent place in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans this season.

Sport have now provided an update on Arsenal’s pursuit of the Turkey international starlet. The outlet and journalist Alejandro Alcazar writes that Arsenal have opened talks with Guler via his representatives, and they’ve also contacted Real ahead of a potential loan deal for January.

Other reports have claimed that Arsenal think they can replicate Odegaard’s transfer by signing Guler, and this notion is echoed by Sport, who also state that the Norwegian’s resurrection at N5 is enough for Real’s fringe star to think about joining him.

Guler’s price tag is around £33 million, but taking him on a temporary spell would allow Arsenal to watch him in action before considering whether to spend that on a permanent deal in the summer.

“His IQ is at a high level,” said Montenegro manager Robert Prosinecki.

“He is a very dominant player with the ball. He always thinks about attacking.”