Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta wants £38m ace as ‘benchmark’ of new-look Gunners attack

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Mikel Arteta has told Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham that Youssef En-Nesyri is good enough to be the leading force in the club’s attacking trident, according to reports. En-Nesyri is reportedly on Arsenal’s radar ahead of the January transfer window after establishing himself as one of Sevilla’s prized assets during his time in Spain.

The 24-year-old has already chipped in with five goals and assists from seven appearances in all competitions this season.

He enjoyed a fruitful spell throughout the previous campaign, scoring 24 times to help Sevilla clinch fourth place in La Liga and reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.

Arsenal are said to be keen admirers of En-Nesyri amid the uncertainty surrounding the immediate futures of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Lacazette will be out of contract at the end of the season and is not expected to sign fresh terms in north London, meaning he is likely to leave on a free transfer in the summer.

Meanwhile, Aubameyang will be in the same boat a year later and could be sold ahead of next season in order for Arsenal to recoup a fee for his services.

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It seems as though Arteta is not hell-bent on keeping the aforementioned pair at the club, with En-Nesyri reportedly being lined up as the ideal candidate to replace them in attack, according to ABC Sevilla.

The report claims that Arsenal approached the player’s agent with a view to negotiating a move for his signature over the summer.

Five other clubs also tried to land En-Nesyri but were unsuccessful due to his desire to remain with Sevilla for the campaign ahead.

Arteta informed Venkatesham that he wanted the Morocco international to be the ‘benchmark’ of Arsenal’s forward line, but the Gunners will be forced to wait until at least January to have another bite at the cherry.

They could face a difficult task in convincing En-Nesyri to make the switch to the Emirates Stadium at the turn of the year.

He is tied down at Sevilla until the summer of 2025 and will reportedly not be sold for anything less than around £38million.

Arsenal were the Premier League’s biggest spenders over the summer, splashing over £150m on no less than six new players, and could be reluctant to spend any more big fees in January.

Arteta recently explained that much of his recent business was conducted to benefit the club’s long-term future, with the likes of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Ben White and Nuno Tavares poised to form a new young core over the next few seasons.

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“We have to be sustainable,” the Arsenal boss told Sky Sports in August. “We have to perform now and we also need a plan for the medium and the long term.

“A lot of the decisions we have made over the last 18 months are because we had a big imbalance in certain areas that was putting the club in a difficult position.

“Then, we wanted to recruit talent, specificity, and players with a big capacity to interact with the players who already exist here and who could develop into potential starters and increase the level of the team and the squad.”

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