Arsenal ‘sniffing around’ Champions League forward as club chief confirms Gunners ‘interest’

Arsenal will be bidding to open up an eight-point gap at the top of the Premier League table when they come up against West Ham on Boxing Day. The Gunners have lost just once in the top flight this season, and have won four of their last five matches, drawing the fifth.

For their part, the Hammers are languishing 16th in the table, and have lost four of their last five outings. But before the two sides meet, there is still plenty of Premier League transfer speculation to work through. Here is Wednesday’s Arsenal round-up...

Gunners like Torres

Arsenal ‘really like’ Barcelona forward Ferran Torres, and continuing to monitor the Spaniard as they continue to assess their options ahead of the January transfer window, according to journalist Dean Jones. The Gunners are expected to be in the market for a new forward having lost summer signing Gabriel Jesus to injury.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said: “They really like Ferran Torres, and they clearly believe he might become available because they inquired about him in the summer as well. So, if they’re sniffing around him again now, they sense that something’s up.”

Mudryk interest confirmed

Shakhtar Donetsk’s deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini has confirmed that Arsenal have expressed an interest in signing star player Mykhailo Mudryk this January. The Ukrainian attacker has been at the centre of widespread speculation in recent weeks, with the Gunners chief amongst the sides understood to be chasing his signature.

Speaking to TVPlay, Nicolini said: “Mudryk has received the message, like all the other players, to show up for the training camp in Antalya on January 9th. Arsenal’s interest is there, I can’t deny it. However, today he is called up for the first training camp which runs from January 9 to February 9, then in Warsaw we will prepare for the next European games.

“Many clubs have taken an indirect interest in Mudryk, without an official offer. There have been a lot of phone calls. I believe that today the Italian teams find it difficult to take a profile like this, both for what it is worth and for the lack of courage in investing in such a profile.”