Arsenal 'keen' on 15-goal Serie A striker who was 'humiliated' by former Premier League manager

Arsenal failed to sign an attacker during the January transfer window, despite making a bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.

The fellow Premier League side rejected their offer, and Mikel Arteta had to move into the back end of the season, still wanting a replacement for Gabriel Jesus, who suffered an ACL injury last month. The Gunners sit six points behind league leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand. The harder that their task of winning the title this year, the more that Arsenal will look ahead to the summer transfer window in order to strengthen their squad.

They have now been linked with a former Everton player, who left to play in the Serie A, where he has found a lot of success.

Arsenal linked with Moise Kean

The Gunners have reportedly been linked with Fiorentina striker Moise Kean, who has scored 15 goals in 23 Serie A appearances for the Italian club this season. The 24-year-old is the second-top scorer in the league behind Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui.

According to Italian football journalist Nicolo Schira on X, both Arsenal and Tottenham are ‘monitoring’ Kean, who has a £43m release clause attached to his contract at Fiorentina. Kean previously spent time in the Premier League with Everton, where he really struggled to get game time. He joined the Toffees from Juventus in 2019, but didn’t have the impact that Everton would have hoped for.

He made just 32 Premier League appearances for Everton, scoring two goals. He was also once humiliated by interim manager Duncan Ferguson, who was in charge at Everton before Carlo Ancelotti came in. He brought him on as a substitute and then took him off again after just 18 minutes in a game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

After the match, Ferguson said “I just needed to make a substitution to kill a bit of time.” Kean, left Goodison Park in 2023, when he returned to Juventus. After a move in the summer to Fiorentina, Kean seems to have finally found his feet.

However, if Arsenal are keen to sign Kean, the Gunners would hope that the 24-year-old attacker can continue his impressive form that he’s shown in Italy. He can play both on the wing, and as a striker, and could ease some pressure on Arsenal’s key attacking players such as Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal also keen on Liverpool star

Surprise reports also emerged this week suggesting that Arsenal could make a summer move for Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota, who has scored five goals in 13 Premier League games this season.

Jota has struggled with injury problems this season, he signed a long-term contract in 2022, which is set to keep him at Anfield until June 2027, however, if Arsenal were to place an offer for the 28-year-old, Liverpool could be willing to sell him.

This season, Cody Gakpo has emerged as more of a first-choice option for Arne Slot due to his recent impressive form. If that continues, the Reds could sell Jota and re-invest the transfer money into a younger attacker, who can help replace the Portugal international in the future.