Arsenal striker hunt hots up as talks with Serie A star begin and Richarlison ‘sounded out’

Arsenal’s search for a striker is continuing in the immediate aftermath of an ultimately disappointing season.

The Gunners finished 5th, despite being four points clear of rivals Tottenham with three games to go in the season, with the unshakeable feeling of missed opportunity clouding an otherwise solid season.

There are clear areas that the side needs strengthening this summer, chief among them the centre-forward position. Both Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are out of contract this summer, and seem unlikely to continue their spells in north London.

This will leave the Gunners without a recognised centre-forward in the senior side, and it is a situation that they are looking to rectify immediately.

Gabriel Jesus is one target, though Mikel Arteta and co. were reportedly somewhat put off by the £55m price tag slapped on him by Manchester City.

Alternatively, the reliable Charles Watts reveals that Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is ‘high up on Arsenal’s target list this summer’, with his agent having already flown in for talks with the north London club.

Victor Osimhen’s agent flew in for talks with Arsenal last week. The Nigerian striker is high up on Arsenal’s target list this summer.

Latest on Arsenal’s striker hunt here ?https://t.co/YsFTANtXx2

— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) May 24, 2022

Osimhen, who joined Napoli for a hefty £638 in 2020, has impressed in Italy. Last season, he netted 14 times in 27 appearances, and he is a player that Arsenal admire.

However, a deal could be tricky. Goal.com report that ‘Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is known as an extremely tough negotiator and would want to receive far more than the £68 million ($85m) transfer fee that he paid Lille to sign the 23-year-old in 2020’.

Richarlison another option

Meanwhile, Richarlison is thought to be another option that the Gunners are keeping tabs on. The same report claims that ‘Arsenal are keeping an eye on Everton forward Richarlison’s situation and have sounded out his representatives in recent weeks.’

Richarlison of Everton celebrates after scoring a goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on May 19, 2022 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)

Everton are widely expected to have to part way with either the Brazilian or Dominic Calvert-Lewin this summer, perhaps even both, due to financial issues. Arsenal are seemingly positioning themselves in case a deal becomes viable at a sensible price, even as they target alternative options.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	38	73	93
2	Liverpool FC	38	68	92
3	Chelsea FC	38	43	74
4	Tottenham Hotspur	38	29	71
5	Arsenal FC	38	13	69
6	Manchester United	38	0	58
7	West Ham United	38	9	56
8	Leicester City	38	3	52
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	38	-2	51
10	Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	-5	51
11	Newcastle United	38	-18	49
12	Crystal Palace	38	4	48
13	Brentford FC	38	-8	46
14	Aston Villa	38	-2	45
15	Southampton FC	38	-24	40
16	Everton FC	38	-23	39
17	Leeds United	38	-37	38
18	Burnley FC	38	-19	35
19	Watford FC	38	-43	23
20	Norwich City	38	-61	22

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	23
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	23
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	17
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	16
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	15
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	15
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	14
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	13
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	12
Maddison, James	Leicester City	12
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Richarlison	Everton FC	11
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	11
Raphinha	Leeds United	11
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa	11

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	11
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	11
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	11
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	10
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	10
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Romeu, Oriol	Southampton FC	0	9
Rudiger, Antonio	Chelsea FC	0	9
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	11
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Maddison, James	Leicester City	9
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	9
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	7
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6