Arsenal are determined to complete the signing of Dusan Vlahovic before the end of this month.
The Gunners have identified the 21-year-old Serbian as their priority target as Mikel Arteta looks to improve on his attacking options at the club.
However, according to recent reports, the young forward is not too interested in Arsenal as a proposition and instead prefers a move to Manchester City, who are also said to be interested in his services.
Now, former Arsenal and Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has claimed that the Gunners cannot attract players of the quality of Vlahovic because of their lack of European football.
"Aubameyang is out and with Lacazette out of contract Arsenal need to look at forward options," Silvestre said to Slingo Casino.
"Vlahovic has been in tremendous form for Fiorentina, so he’s a valid candidate, but for Arsenal to attract these players they need to be in the Champions League.
"They’ve got a job to do on the pitch first and then they can bring in this type of striker."
Arsenal are of course fighting to once again be in the UEFA Champions League, with a race for the top four looking likely to go down to the wire, so the Gunners could be a much more attractive project for Vlahovic in the summer.
What has Arteta said?
Arteta disagrees with Silvestre's comments, with the Arsenal boss insisting the north Londoners are still able to attract world-class players - saying nothing has changed in that regard.
Speaking to the media earlier in the month, Arteta said: "Historically, this club has been targeting the best players in the world and the best players in the world were always interested to come here.
"I consider that situation hasn't changed. That is one of our biggest powers. Every time I have spoken to any player they were so willing to come, I have not faced any other situation.
"Our capacity to get the attention of people to come to our club, is something that is a big advantage for us."
Arteta will be hoping that his comments are indeed proven right, but Arsenal are set to face some really tough competition from the likes of Man City and Juventus, who are both reportedly keeping a close eye on Vlahovic right now.
