The Gunners are sitting in second place in the league behind Liverpool this campaign and it seems like the biggest difference between both sides is that Arne Slot can bank on Mohamed Salah to score goals galore.

But the responsibility of bringing in a striker does not necessarily fall on Arteta, with Gary Neville criticising Arsenal for not signing a centre-forward as the onus was on the club’s recruits to address a priority position in the squad last summer.

As the age-old adage goes, when one fails to plan, they plan to fail and so far this season, the North Londoners’ chance of winning a major trophy seem remote.

From Mikel Arteta’s lens, he will certainly be hoping that work is being done behind the scenes to wrap up a move for a world-class striker.

Arsenal unlikely to sign Moise Kean as they doubt his track record

But with there not being many elite strikers across world football as was the case a few years ago, Arsenal will certainly find it difficult to sign a sure-fire goalscorer.

Furthermore, Arteta plays a specialised system that only a certain profile of a number nine can fit into.

As Arsenal explore the potential frontmen they could sign, journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that they have ruled out a move for Fiorentina’s in-form marksman Moise Kean as they have question marks over his track record as a proven goalscorer.

Jacobs told GiveMeSport: “Kean has found a bit of a breakthrough season, having struggled for goals at Juventus, he had a good loan at PSG but other than that, the vast majority of his career, he struggled to get into double figures. And although the Fiorentina numbers are very strong at the moment, I’m told Arsenal feel they would need to see a bit more evidence of back-to-back seasons of him being this prolific.”

TBR Football exclusively confirmed that Kean was offered to Arsenal in January but they ultimately decided not to sign the former Everton finisher. Kean is having a terrific season for Fiorentina, scoring 15 goals in Serie A this season — which is more than both Havertz, who is out for the season and Gabriel Jesus (12) put together.

In all competitions this season as well, the 24-year-old has scored an impressive 19 goals for a La Viola side who are placed sixth in the Italian top-flight.

Mikel Arteta’s dream striker revealed as Arsenal reject Kean move

Whether Arsenal live to regret their decision remains to be seen as Kean is having a terrific campaign but in fairness to the English giants, the last time he even scored 19 goals in total was back in the 2020/2021 season for Paris Saint-Germain.

But Arteta’s dream striker is Alexander Isak, with journalist David Ornstein revealing earlier this month: “The way he has developed and flourished is just spectacular, and it probably makes Arsenal rue their missed opportunity. There’s no doubt that he is the player that Mikel Arteta has at the top of his list. If he was to sign a striker, he’s seen as perfect for Arsenal’s system and everything he offers.”

However, Ornstein did burst Arsenal and Mikel Arteta’s bubble by revealing that Newcastle United are not even considering selling Isak anytime soon.

“But Newcastle fans will hate hearing that, because they’ve got him under contract for a few years yet. He’s their key player. He’s at the centre of what they and their Saudi-led ownership are doing. And they’ve got no intention of seeing him go anywhere. They want him to sign a new contract. If they don’t qualify for the Champions League, maybe there’s a consideration, but the price will be phenomenally high.”

“Really, clubs like Arsenal should be looking for the next Alexander Isak, not the one who’s on the market if he was to come on the market. And also, we don’t even know that Isak would want to join Arsenal. I think it’s more realistic that Arsenal need to look for other targets, such as a Benjamin Sesko or whoever else is on the market.”

Arsenal may have to pay £150 million to sign Isak and pay a club-record fee to fulfill Mikel Arteta’s wishes; a decision that the Emirates faithful would perhaps be on board with.