Arsenal aren't expected to strike any significant deals this month, after an expensive summer of transfers – but could they be about to rake in £30 million out of the blue?
The Gunners hit back in style at the weekend following three losses on the bounce, as they turned over Crystal Palace 5-0. Gabriel Martinelli doubled his season's goal tally with a brace, while Leandro Trossard found himself on the scoresheet.
For the Eagles, however, things are looking bleak. Roy Hodgson's odds in the sack race have shortened dramatically, while club chairman Steve Parish watched on as the away faithful unfurled an angry banner, bemoaning the state of the club.
There is a genuine possibility that the Croydon club find themselves in a relegation battle, having won just twice since late September's stunning away victory at Old Trafford. It's perhaps only because of looming points deductions and Ivan Toney's ban that Palace aren't in real trouble right now.
Arsenal piled on the misery, all right – but they just might be able to offer their London rivals an olive branch, in the form of a long-term target.
Palace signed Rob Holding on Deadline Day in the summer, but the player they really want is Eddie Nketiah. The forward is of “genuine interest” to a side who have struggled for goals all season, with tentative figures of £30 million banded about for the 24-year-old.
There's a case that Nketiah would suit Palace – and a fair chance that Saturday's embarrassment at the Emirates Stadium could be the catalyst to force the board into action. In thumping their visitors at the weekend, could Arsenal have thrashed them into bidding for their own player?
It seems somewhat unlikely that this result could change the course of Palace's January transfer strategy, with Nketiah far likelier to leave Arsenal come summer. But with Selhurst Park entering desperate times, perhaps Palace will want to act with increased urgency in the last few days of the transfer window to avoid a relegation fight.
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