Arsenal 'ahead' of Manchester United in pursuit of lethal Premier League striker

Arsenal have reportedly overtaken Manchester United in the pursuit for Wolves striker Matheus Cunha, who has been in good form for the past two years in the Premier League. The Gunners were previously linked to Cunha when he was at Atletico Madrid.

The Brazil international has scored seven goals in 15 games for Wolves so far this season, and last year, managed to net 14 in 36 games in all competitions. He now looks to have caught the attention of several top Premier League clubs who are keen on finding a striker.

According to recent reports, the Gunners are the latest team to express an interest in Cunha, with Caught Offside are reporting that Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have made initial contact regarding a possible transfer of the attacker.

There had been previous interest from Manchester United, but Arsenal’s emergence as a possible destination, and that they appear to have have made initial contact first, has put them ahead of United in their pursuit of Cunha.

Wolves want to keep hold of Cunha

Despite the interest from Arsenal, Wolves reportedly want to keep hold of the striker, as they are planning on offering a new contract to him in order to prevent him joining one of the Premier League’s top clubs.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil played down the chance of Cunha leaving in the January transfer window. He said: “I don’t foresee there being any problems in January with Matheus Cunha, contract-wise, I’ll leave that to the club. Matheus won’t leave in January, definitely not.”

Arsenal face heavy competition to sign Cunha

If Wolves are adamant that Cunha won’t leave in January, then clubs will have to wait and try to make a move for the attacker over the summer when his contract will only have two years left to run - Wolves could then cash in on Cunha’s value with time to find a worthy replacement.

However, Arsenal and Manchester United aren’t the only Premier League clubs thought to hold an interest in the Brazilian, with Tottenham Hotspur named among the interest parties in the report. Ange Postecoglou has said that he wants to add more attackers in the next few transfer windows, and Cunha could be one such name.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa and Newcastle were also included in the report as possible destinations, with the Magpies a seemingly realistic move considering that their striker Alexander Isak holds heavy interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

Finally, Serie A clubs Napoli and AC Milan have also been linked to Cunha, which could spark somewhat of a bidding war in the summer considering that Cunha is on course for the best season of his career at Molineux.