The end of the season is still some way off, but there is little secret that once the madness of the summer transfer window begins, Arsenal will be on the lookout for a centre forward.
Mikel Arteta has refused to rule out a stay for Alexandre Lacazette, but with Eddie Nketiah likely to leave when his contract expires in July and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang having joined Barcelona last month without being replaced, the Gunners will be in the market for at least one number nine.
The rumour mill has churned out a heavy rotation of names now familiar to most Arsenal fans such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Alexander Isak and Jonathan David.
One name on which the trail has gone slightly colder though is Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentinian was heavily linked with a move to North London last summer amid a contract stand off with Inter Milan.
However, with Lacazette, Aubameyang, Nketiah, Flo Balogun and Gabriel Martinelli all on the books at the time, any potential move appeared to be a difficult one to pull off.
Arsenal instead focused on strengthening other areas of the squad by bringing in Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard, while Martinez himself went on to sign an extension with the Nerazzuri that will keep him at the San Siro until 2026.
This appeared to close the door on any possibility of a move to North London for the Argentinian, however, reports in Italy have suggested that it could still just about be ajar.
From the outset it's easy to see why Arsenal would be interested in the 24-year-old.
With technically proficient signings like Ramsdale, White and Odegaard, Arteta has made it clear that he wants his team to be one that spends most of its time in the opponent's part of the pitch. After the Watford game, the Spaniard said he wanted the Gunners to make "300,000 passes in the opposition half" to fully flex their control in matches.
One of the easier ways to do this is by winning the ball up high, and this is something Martinez excels in.
fbRef has the Argentine up in the 84th percentile for ball recoveries among strikers in Europe's top five leagues, the 79th for pressures in the middle third and the 79th for pressures in the attacking third.
As a result the Arsenal transfer team would surely have been watching Martinez as his Inter side travelled to Anfield to take on Liverpool in the Champions League round of 16 second leg on Tuesday night.
The highlight from that viewing would undoubtedly have been the 24-year-old's second half rocket of a strike that helped secure the Nerazzuri a 1-0 win on the night, but despite the top quality finish, the Gunners scouts would have seen some red flags too.
One of the things Arteta wants from his centre forwards is the ability to drop deep and help link the play. The Spaniard has heavily praised Lacazette recently for his work in this role where he has seven assists in his last nine matches and has played an important part in the impressive form of Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
A key part of this skillset is the strength to battle hard for possession and be a true focal point for the attack. This though, is something Martinez struggled with.
At Anfield he managed to win just two of his 11 duels and was largely outmuscled by Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk. He will not be the first striker to have suffered the same fate against Liverpool's formidable centre back pairing, but the fact that his teammate Alexis Sanchez had far more joy in this area suggests that there was scope for an improved performance.
Given Arsenal's atrocious disciplinary record, the Chilean's second half red card meant that Martinez was probably given the best possible exposure to what it would be like to pull on a Gunners shirt, but his struggles up front mean that he may never get the chance to.
Transfermarkt values the 24-year-old at £72million, and having signed that contract extension last summer, you would imagine that it would be hard for Arsenal to persuade Inter to part with him for anything less than that.
Edu could perhaps justify such an expenditure if Martinez's goal record was worthy, but this is a bit of a concern too.
Tuesday night's goal was the Argentine's first goal in 10 Champions League matches, while his record of no goals in 10 Italian matches prior to his hat-trick in Inter's win last Friday of Serie A's bottom side Salernitana had prompted Gazetta dello Sport to publish the headline "Lautaro, what's going on?"
If Lacazette is to move on this summer, then whoever comes in will have to be an upgrade on the crucial skillset the Frenchman brings to the table.
With his patchy form in Italy and underwhelming display against Liverpool, Martinez appears to have sent the message to the Arsenal hierarchy that he may not be the man for the job.
