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Arsenal are seemingly the front-runners to sign Real Madrid's Luka Jovic in the off-season, after AC Milan reportedly ended their pursuit.
The Gunners are reported to be scouring the market for a potential new frontman amid ondoing doubts surrounding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been linked with Barcelona and Inter Milan, among others.
Reports this week have claimed Aubameyang could be sold off for just £30 million this summer with his contract having just 12 months to run come the summer, leading to speculation that Manchester United are poised to swoop.
However, it was claimed on Wednesday that Aubameyang remains committed to Arsenal and was ready to ink a new contract to pledge his future to the club; old father Aubameyang will certainly be pleased if that comes to pass!
Regardless of what Aubameyang opts to do, there also remains doubts over the future of his partner in crime Alexandre Lacazette, who is reportedly still on Atletico Madrid's radar.
And while the Gunners still have bright young things Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli to fall back on, Spanish daily Sport claims Mikel Arteta is very much intent on bringing Jovic to Emirates Stadium this summer.
As per the report, the Real Madrid striker 'occupies a leading role' in Arteta's thinking, despite his struggles at the Bernabeu. The article suggests Arteta has firmly made the player one of his leading targets this summer and is convinced the 55-goal Serbian can shine in the Premier League and recapture the form he had previously shown for Eintracht Frankfurt.
The report in Sport goes on to explain that Arsenal's interest in Jovic has forced Milan - and fellow suitors Napoli - to take a backseat in their efforts to sign the 22-year-old.
It's claimed Milan had wanted to pair Jovic up with his former Frankfurt teammate Ante Rebic, but, having been made aware of Arsenal's interest, have been forced to accept that the player is 'more likely' to move to London.
Rebic and Jovic managed 37 goals and 13 assists between them during the 2018/19 season as Frankfurt reached the Europa League semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners Chelsea.
However, the deal to take the striker to Emirates Stadium has, according to Sport, left Los Blancos with something of a dilemma. They claim that, despite only two goals in 15 appearances since his move to the Bernabeu, they are not yet ready to cast Jovic aside and are more likely to sanction a loan exit as opposed a permanent deal.
That arrangement would also likely suit Arsenal, who are short of funds and are reported to have prioritised any scant transfer funds they have on strenghtening their defence, first and foremost.
And the pair have a solid relationship after striking a similar arrangement last summer in a deal that took midfielder Dani Ceballos to Emirates Stadium for a season.
Arsenal do have the option to sign Ceballos on a permanent €50 million deal but are highly unlikely to take Real up on the offer, leaving the Spain midfielder to return to the Bernabeu and, most likely, left to seek a temporary switch elsewhere.
