Arsenal target January forward as Gyokeres struggles to nail down starting role

Arsenal are actively planning to recruit a forward in the January transfer window after Viktor Gyokeres managed just one goal in the opening weeks of the season — a strike in a Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town.

Manager Mikel Arteta has placed attacking reinforcements at the top of his agenda, viewing fresh firepower as essential to competing across all competitions. The move is a pointed reflection on Gyokeres, whose place at the Emirates is increasingly under scrutiny despite Arsenal’s strong start to their Premier League title defence.

Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi has been identified as a potential target, though the Cherries are expected to resist any approach in the winter window. The 20-year-old Frenchman has also attracted reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. Arsenal’s long-standing interest in Juventus midfielder Kenan Yildiz remains active, while the club continue to monitor Vinicius Junior’s situation at Real Madrid — though a winger is considered a secondary priority behind securing a versatile forward.

Arteta’s pursuit of a new striker carries added weight given comments he made earlier in Gyokeres’ Arsenal career. The Spaniard revealed he had warned the Swedish international that prolonged goal droughts come with the territory at a club of Arsenal’s stature.

“I told him before the first meeting, I said, ‘The nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn’t score for six or eight games, he can handle that,’” Arteta said. “‘If not, you have to go somewhere else because the expectation is going to be there.’ So, if you put on a nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, ‘OK, six games, if I don’t score, I’m a different player? I start to act in a different way?’ No, I want much more of the same of what he’s doing.”

Arteta was also keen to highlight the broader contributions Gyokeres makes. “He brings so much to the team. He creates space and solutions to a lot of the players around him. And with the talent that we have in the team, I’m sure that everybody, him included, will benefit from that.”

Gyokeres was restricted to a late substitute appearance in Sunday’s win at Liverpool, coming on after match-winner Kai Havertz had already sealed the result. The 26-year-old will be hoping to earn a starting berth in Arsenal’s Champions League away fixture against Slavia Prague on Wednesday.