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Arsenal are now leading Chelsea in the race to sign ‘unbelievable’ striker before the transfer deadline

Arsenal now have less than a week to bring in a new forward which has eluded them so far in this summer’s transfer window.

Mikel Arteta has been very specific with their summer signings having seen Riccardo Calafiori become Arsenal‘s only confirmed arrival so far.

It has certainly been a case of Arteta looking to add the right people to take the Gunners forward in their title hopes rather than just signing players for the sake of it.

The negotiations for their targets have been long and arduous with Edu Gaspar being put to work over recent weeks.

Signing number two could be nearing with an agreement in place between Arsenal and Real Sociedad for Mikel Merino.

And there could even be time for the north London side to bring in a forward with just under one week remaining in the window.

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Arsenal leading Chelsea in the race to sign Victor Osimhen

Adding a new striker is surely something that is high up on Arteta’s wishlist this summer having seen gabriel Jesus struggle last season.

Kai Havertz continues to impress up top having opened his account of the weekend against Wolves, but an out and out striker may be preferred.

One striker who Arsenal are showing an interest in is Napoli’s Victor Osimhen whose future is set to be decided over the coming days.

According to Saturday’s edition of , Arsenal are now ahead of their London rivals Chelsea in the race to sign the ‘unbelievableOsimhen before the end of the window.

“Romelu Lukaku is now arriving, but the Osimhen situation is still to be resolved. Victor will go to the photo finish (the gong for negotiations is scheduled for next Friday at midnight).

“The idea is to find him a place in the Premier League (Arsenal more than Chelsea) but with a replacement already in the bag, otherwise the timing risks not coinciding.

“Hence Napoli’s strong pressure to close Lukaku immediately, without waiting for the Nigerian’s (eventual) farewell. The presence of the sporting director, Giovanni Manna, in London for days is a clear signal of the desire to define the negotiation and deliver to Conte his new reference centre-forward. There is no more time to waste.”

Osimhen had already been involved in talks with Chelsea with Napoli signing Romelu Lukaku recently.

What Mikel Arteta said about signing a new striker this summer

The Gunners have been left with an interesting decision to make over the final week of the window with Havertz scoring in the season opener.

The German netted 13 times last season as he impressed up top with the struggles endured by Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.

Speaking of Nketiah, it looks as if the Arsenal striker could be set to make the move to Nottingham Forest over the coming days.

Although he is not exactly the starting striker for the Gunners, losing another option may be a major blow for Arsenal.

“We fully trust our players, we want to get better… but going to try with players that are already with us,” Arteta told the media recently.