Arsenal's push for a return to the Champions League after a five-year absence stuttered on Monday night. With fierce rivals Tottenham leapfrogging them into fourth with a win over Newcastle on Sunday, the Gunners could not respond with a limp 3-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace.
It leaves Mikel Arteta's men fifth in the Premier League table, level on points with Spurs, albeit with a game in hand on the Lilywhites in the race for fourth spot. Up until Monday, Arsenal's form had been impressive, although there remain question marks over the front-line.
football.london understands that Arsenal will look to sign two forwards at the end of the season, with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang having already joined Barcelona in January and Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah scheduled to leave the club when their contracts expire in the summer. Once assessing options from across Europe, who could the Gunners target to fill their squad void at the business end of the pitch?
READ MORE: How Arsenal's January departures are faring as Mikel Arteta and Edu make summer decisions
Jonathan David (Lille)
One of the obvious targets for Arsenal is Jonathan David, who is currently experiencing his second season at Lille. Just 22 years-old, the Canadian striker has scored a minimum of 11 non-penalty goals in each of his last four league campaigns in France and Belgium, and this season appears likely to be his best yet.
The goals he's scored in Ligue 1 offer an insight into his two-footedness in particular, as he's scored 15 times with his right foot and 10 times with his left. According to StatsBomb data, he favours his preferred foot just 76% of the time. On top of David's two-footed nature, he's capable of linking with teammates in tight spaces and ultimately, he could be a suitable long-term heir to Alexandre Lacazette.
Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen)
One of the players who has exploded on the continent this season is Patrik Schick of Bayer Leverkusen. The Czech Republic international has 19 non-penalty goals to his name in the Bundesliga so far. For context, he's scored more goals than everyone in Europe's top five leagues except for Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Ciro immobile and Dusan Vlahovic and the same as Mohamed Salah.
His finishing in particular has grabbed the headlines. Schick is overperforming Expected Goals by 6.5 goals at the moment, which is bettered by only one player from Europe's top five leagues and captures his level of conversion. Now 26 years-old, Schick appears ready to deliver immediately and if reports are to be believed, he could be attainable for around £50million.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is another player who ticks plenty of Arsenal boxes, and he's been tipped for a move to the Emirates in recent windows. Upon inspection of how the Gunners attack, they appear to lack a physical presence in the penalty box who can occupy defenders and pose a threat from high crosses. In fact, only 15 teams from the 98 across Europe's top five leagues have scored fewer headers than Arsenal this season, which suggests that Calvert-Lewin could add a new dynamic for Arteta.
Since his emergence at Everton, the English striker has scored 43 goals in the Premier League, 18 of which have been headers. In fact, Calvert-Lewin is almost just as likely to score with his preferred foot as he is with his head, having used his right foot to score 20 times. He could be difficult to acquire but if the Goodison Park outfit suffer relegation, he would make plenty of sense and could be secured for less than his true worth.
