Arsenal is now really keen to sign a top-class forward in an amazing deal before the transfer deadline.
Arsenal and their manager Mikel Arteta are really keen to sign a striker before the transfer deadline, according to reports. They have already picked their top choice.
The Gunners tried to take advantage of the uncertainty around Vinicius Junior’s future at Real Madrid. They were ready to make a huge offer to bring the talented Brazilian player to the Premier League. Arsenal’s sporting director, Andrea Berta, even spoke to Vinicius’s representatives and were reportedly willing to offer him a much higher wage than usual to get the deal done.
This interest in Vinicius came because he was in the last year of his contract at Real Madrid, and it wasn’t clear if he would stay. But after a big meeting between Real Madrid officials and Vinicius’s reps, he agreed to sign a new six-year deal to stay in Spain.
Usually, if Arteta can’t sign his top target, he might walk away from the transfer market. But this time, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Recently, The Independent’s Miguel Delaney shared that Arsenal had a shortlist of three other players in case they missed out on Vinicius: Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid, Iliman Ndiaye from Everton, and Bradley Barcola from PSG.
However, in a surprise change, Arsenal might not sign any of those three. According to Turkish news outlet Sozcu, the club is now strongly set on signing a new striker and has identified Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen as a “more accessible and top-level option.” Arsenal’s interest in Osimhen reportedly goes back to April, when Berta met with Osimhen’s agent during a derby match in Turkey.
The report also mentions that Osimhen’s name came up in talks between Arsenal and Galatasaray about possibly signing Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri. Galatasaray had reportedly offered a deal to sign both players, but Martinelli apparently turned down the move, which was worth around £45 million.
Sozcu says Arsenal seems very determined to sign Osimhen within the next 15 days, which is how long the transfer window in England will still be open. One challenge might be the transfer fee since Galatasaray reportedly rejected a huge €130 million offer from Saudi club Al Hilal for Osimhen. However, Osimhen himself turned down a move to Saudi Arabia last summer despite the big money, so a good offer from a Premier League team might convince Galatasaray to sell.
Even though Osimhen has been linked with the Premier League before, the 27-year-old has never played there. He started his career in Nigeria before moving to Wolfsburg in Germany at 18. After playing for Charleroi and Lille, he spent four successful years at Napoli, winning the Serie A title in 2023. But when Antonio Conte became Napoli’s manager, Osimhen was allowed to go on loan to Galatasaray for the 2024/25 season.
The loan move became permanent last summer. Since then, Osimhen has scored 61 goals in 75 games for Galatasaray and won the Turkish Super Lig title twice. He started the 2026/27 season strong by scoring two goals in a 2-2 draw against newly promoted Corum in their first league match.