Edu addresses Arsenal fan calls to sign new striker

Arsenal sporting director Edu has admitted that he "understands" why fans are calling for the Gunners to sign a striker in the summer transfer window but gave little away about the club's actual plans.

Gabriel Jesus was signed for £45m in 2022 but has spent a significant amount of time injured since then, as well as admitting that goalscoring isn't his strong suit. Eddie Nketiah is the only other central striker in the squad but hasn’t been a regular starter since November.

Instead, Mikel Arteta has preferred to use repurposed wingers or attacking midfielders in the 'number nine' role, like Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz.

"I understand what the fans are asking for but we have already our ideas, our targets. We plan a lot ahead of what we’re going to face," Edu explained to TNT Sports on Saturday night after Arsenal had put four goals past Newcastle United in the Premier League.

"I would be worried if we're not scoring a lot of goals, if we're not creating chances, which is the opposite, I think we're creating a lot, we're scoring a lot of goals. The plan is to every year to try to get better, I think we’re in a good moment and let's see if we can keep improving."

Arsenal's goals were shared around last season, with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli all registering 15 across all competitions. Saka has 16 so far in 2023/24, but no player has surpassed 20 goals in a single season since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recorded 29 in 2019/20.

90min understands that Arsenal are keeping tabs on Bologna’s Netherlands Under-21 forward Joshua Zirkzee, as are Manchester United. Interest has also been shown in Dusan Vlahovic, while talks were held with Ivan Toney’s representatives but were met with Brentford’s prohibitive asking price.

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