Arsenal eye swoop for £90m hitman, Memphis Depay also among Arteta’s targets

Arsenal have identified four strikers to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with Raul Jimenez and Memphis Depay among Mikel Arteta’s targets, according to reports in France via The Sun.

Aubameyang has once again been a key player for Arsenal this season having scored 25 goals in all competitions but he has just one year left on his contract at the Emirates and is yet to agree terms over an extension.

Arteta hasn’t given up hope of persuading the Gabon international to commit his future to the club and qualifying for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup next weekend could be enough to tempt Aubameyang to put pen to paper.

However, Arsenal still need to prepare for his departure as they’ll be forced to cash-in if the 31-year-old doesn’t sign a new deal and The Sun are carrying a report from Le10Sport that claims Arteta has drawn-up a four-man short-list of potential replacements.

The French outlet says Jimenez is one of Arsenal’s top targets after enjoying another productive campaign for Wolves that’s seem him score 26 goals and provide another 10 assists in his 52 appearances in all competitions.

Any potential deal for the Mexican international won’t be easy though as the 29-year-old has suggested he’s happy at Molineux and The Sun says Wolves has slapped a £90m price-tag on the strikers head ahead of the summer window.

Arsenal would struggle to meet that valuation, even if they did qualify for Europe, so it looks like Arteta has lined-up some cheaper alternatives with the report claiming the Gunners are also showing a keen interest in Depay.

The Dutchman has rediscovered his form at Lyon following a failed stint at Manchester United and he’s been tipped for a move away from Ligue 1 this summer after Lyon failed to qualify for Europe.

Arteta is understood to be a big fan of Depay’s ability and at 26, the Dutchman would be a lot younger than Jimenez and should cost a lot less than the Wolves hitman, so that will appeal to the Arsenal hierarchy.

Le10Sport claims Arsenal are also interested in Depay’s team-mate Moussa Dembele and have already held initial talks with his representatives about a possible move to the Emirates this summer.

The final player on Arteta’s hit-list, according to the French outlet, is Newcastle attacker Allan Saint-Maximin – who has impressed at St James’ Park since arriving in a £17m deal from Nice last summer.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop with Aubameyang’s contract situation but if he doesn’t sign a new deal soon, then Arsenal are going to have to sell and it looks like they’ve identified four potential replacements.