Arsenal could use Jose Mourinho’s Granit Xhaka interest to solve the striker issues that are set to become an emergency for Mikel Arteta in the summer.
Xhaka's long-term Arsenal future remains uncertain and football.london understands that Roma are expected to make a fresh attempt to sign the Swiss international at the end of the season.
The Serie A side was close to signing Xhaka last summer but a deal broke down due to the two clubs being unable to agree on a fee.
However, this time around Arsenal could use Xhaka as part of their negotiations to sign Tammy Abraham, who they were seriously interested in before he joined the Italian side.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal were only considering a move for Abraham if they could free up space in the striker position.
Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette had both reportedly been made available by Edu, but neither player was sold.
Abraham ended up joining Roma in a £40 million deal from Chelsea in the summer after he was deemed surplus to requirements by Thomas Tuchel.
It was reported that the Englishman wanted to join Arsenal and the Gunners were keen on pursuing a deal, but they had to offload one of the strikers beforehand.
However, Edu could come back in for the Englishman due to the worrying situation that is set to hit the north London side when it comes to the striker position ahead of next season.
The current starting forward for Arsenal is Lacazette but his contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and according to French outlet L’Equipe, his former club Lyon are interested in resigning him.
If he does depart from the club then Arsenal could be left with just one recognised striker in the form of Folarin Balogun. Nketiah’s contract is also set to expire at the end of the season and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Barcelona means that Edu would have offloaded three forwards within the space of six months.
This would leave Arsenal needing two strikers, and Abraham would certainly be a decent option as a backup considering his playing history.
The English international has the necessary Premier League experience whilst his performances for Roma this season have been excellent, scoring 17 goals in 32 appearances.
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