Arteta could land Arsenal’s next Dennis Bergkamp with move for £86m-rated “animal”

The Gunners are seemingly stepping up their search to find a new centre-forward.

Bergkamp-Arsenal-Premier-League-Lautaro
As Arsenal’s recent loss to West Ham United proved, Mikel Arteta’s side are still seemingly lacking that cutting edge in front of goal, having failed to convert any of their 30 attempts on goal during that 2-0 defeat.

With Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah scoring just eight Premier League goals between them this season, the focus is perhaps understandably on whether a new centre-forward addition could be acquired in 2024 – either next month or in the summer.

Gabriel-Martinelli-Arsenal-Champions-League
RELATED
Arsenal could have Martinelli running scared by signing £69m “wizard”
While much has been made of the Gunners’ interest in Ivan Toney, the latest indication is that the title hopefuls are also keeping tabs on Inter Milan talisman, Lautaro Martinez.

Arsenal transfer news – Lautaro Martinez
According to a report from CBS reporter James Benge earlier this week, the World Cup winner is among a handful of strikers that are on Arsenal’s ‘radar’ at present, with the 26-year-old joined on that shortlist by Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface – as well as Toney.

As Benge notes, the loss to the Hammers has heightened the desire to see a new number nine acquired in January, although none of Boniface, Osimhen or Martinez are likely to be available in the winter window.

Arsenal rumoured striker targets for January

Latest update

Ivan Toney

20th December

Serhou Guirassy

19th December

Dominic Solanke

17th December

Boulaye Dia

16th December

Kylian Mbappe

15th December

Marcos Leonardo

14th December

That ensures that the north London outfit may have to bide their time until the end of the season to land the Argentine – who is valued at €100m (£86m), as per CIES Football Observatory – although it could well prove worth the wait.

Lautaro Martinez could be the next Dennis Bergkamp
It would not be the first time that Arsenal have signed a high-profile forward from the Serie A side in the Premier League era, if Martinez was to sign, having memorably snapped up Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp from Inter back in 1995.

Then-boss Bruce Rioch signed off on the £7.5m transfer of the one-time Ajax man, with such a deal ultimately proving a real bargain as Bergkamp dazzled over the next decade or so, proving instrumental in that golden period under Arsene Wenger.

In 315 Premier League appearances, the now-retired ace – who helped the Gunners to claim three league titles – scored 87 goals and contributed 94 assists in that time, illustrating his devastating quality as both a great goalscorer and an unselfish provider.

While Martinez is arguably more of an out-and-out marksman in contrast to Bergkamp, he too also combines a clinical nature in front of goal with an ability to tee up others, scoring 119 goals and registering 40 assists in 261 games for his current side.

Adorning the number ten shirt at San Siro – the number which Bergkamp famously wore during his time in England – the in-demand talent also shares a likeness with the Dutchman as he typically operates with another striker, partnering Romelu Lukaku, Edin Dzeko and Marcus Thuram in recent years.

Bergkamp, of course, struck up a telepathic connection with Thierry Henry at Highbury to form a formidable striking duo under Wenger, with Henry lauding him as a “dream for a striker” due to his selfless nature and innate genius on the ball.

That praise is no doubt akin to what the Inter man has been subject to in recent times, with Football Italia’s Richard Hall writing that the £134k-per-week sharpshooter ‘manages to be everybody’s perfect partner’, be it Dzeko, Lukaku etc, despite also finding the net himself.

dennis-bergkamp-arsenal-transfer-wenger-karim-benzema-real-madrid
Arteta may have to reshuffle his front line in order to accommodate the former Racing Club man and get the best out of him, yet snapping up Martinez – who has 15 goals and four assists in just 16 Serie A games this term – could well have shades of the deal that saw Bergkamp arrive almost 30 years ago.

If the free-scoring “animal” – as described by national team boss, Lionel Scaloni – could get anywhere close to emulating the Arsenal icon, it would be some signing indeed.

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(2832 Articles Published)
Robbie is a content and opinion writer who has been working in the world of football media over the past few years.

Having graduated from university in 2020, Robbie spent a couple of years working as an intern or in freelance positions across a variety of sites, including 90min and Football Faithful, before joining the team at Snack Media in Spring 2022.

After beginning life at Snack as part of the company’s academy set-up, Robbie was selected to join their flagship website, Football FanCast, as an opinion writer, before going on to rise up through the ranks to now taking on the role of Assistant Editor.

Robbie is a Manchester United fan, but also has a particular fondness for both Celtic and Wycombe Wanderers.

The Gunners are seemingly stepping up their search to find a new centre-forward.

Bergkamp-Arsenal-Premier-League-Lautaro
As Arsenal’s recent loss to West Ham United proved, Mikel Arteta’s side are still seemingly lacking that cutting edge in front of goal, having failed to convert any of their 30 attempts on goal during that 2-0 defeat.

With Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah scoring just eight Premier League goals between them this season, the focus is perhaps understandably on whether a new centre-forward addition could be acquired in 2024 – either next month or in the summer.

Gabriel-Martinelli-Arsenal-Champions-League
RELATED
Arsenal could have Martinelli running scared by signing £69m “wizard”
While much has been made of the Gunners’ interest in Ivan Toney, the latest indication is that the title hopefuls are also keeping tabs on Inter Milan talisman, Lautaro Martinez.

Arsenal transfer news – Lautaro Martinez
According to a report from CBS reporter James Benge earlier this week, the World Cup winner is among a handful of strikers that are on Arsenal’s ‘radar’ at present, with the 26-year-old joined on that shortlist by Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface – as well as Toney.

As Benge notes, the loss to the Hammers has heightened the desire to see a new number nine acquired in January, although none of Boniface, Osimhen or Martinez are likely to be available in the winter window.

Arsenal rumoured striker targets for January

Latest update

Ivan Toney

20th December

Serhou Guirassy

19th December

Dominic Solanke

17th December

Boulaye Dia

16th December

Kylian Mbappe

15th December

Marcos Leonardo

14th December

That ensures that the north London outfit may have to bide their time until the end of the season to land the Argentine – who is valued at €100m (£86m), as per CIES Football Observatory – although it could well prove worth the wait.

Lautaro Martinez could be the next Dennis Bergkamp
It would not be the first time that Arsenal have signed a high-profile forward from the Serie A side in the Premier League era, if Martinez was to sign, having memorably snapped up Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp from Inter back in 1995.

Then-boss Bruce Rioch signed off on the £7.5m transfer of the one-time Ajax man, with such a deal ultimately proving a real bargain as Bergkamp dazzled over the next decade or so, proving instrumental in that golden period under Arsene Wenger.

In 315 Premier League appearances, the now-retired ace – who helped the Gunners to claim three league titles – scored 87 goals and contributed 94 assists in that time, illustrating his devastating quality as both a great goalscorer and an unselfish provider.

While Martinez is arguably more of an out-and-out marksman in contrast to Bergkamp, he too also combines a clinical nature in front of goal with an ability to tee up others, scoring 119 goals and registering 40 assists in 261 games for his current side.

Adorning the number ten shirt at San Siro – the number which Bergkamp famously wore during his time in England – the in-demand talent also shares a likeness with the Dutchman as he typically operates with another striker, partnering Romelu Lukaku, Edin Dzeko and Marcus Thuram in recent years.

Bergkamp, of course, struck up a telepathic connection with Thierry Henry at Highbury to form a formidable striking duo under Wenger, with Henry lauding him as a “dream for a striker” due to his selfless nature and innate genius on the ball.

That praise is no doubt akin to what the Inter man has been subject to in recent times, with Football Italia’s Richard Hall writing that the £134k-per-week sharpshooter ‘manages to be everybody’s perfect partner’, be it Dzeko, Lukaku etc, despite also finding the net himself.

dennis-bergkamp-arsenal-transfer-wenger-karim-benzema-real-madrid
Arteta may have to reshuffle his front line in order to accommodate the former Racing Club man and get the best out of him, yet snapping up Martinez – who has 15 goals and four assists in just 16 Serie A games this term – could well have shades of the deal that saw Bergkamp arrive almost 30 years ago.

If the free-scoring “animal” – as described by national team boss, Lionel Scaloni – could get anywhere close to emulating the Arsenal icon, it would be some signing indeed.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter!
Email Address
By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe Editor
(2832 Articles Published)
Robbie is a content and opinion writer who has been working in the world of football media over the past few years.

Having graduated from university in 2020, Robbie spent a couple of years working as an intern or in freelance positions across a variety of sites, including 90min and Football Faithful, before joining the team at Snack Media in Spring 2022.

After beginning life at Snack as part of the company’s academy set-up, Robbie was selected to join their flagship website, Football FanCast, as an opinion writer, before going on to rise up through the ranks to now taking on the role of Assistant Editor.

Robbie is a Manchester United fan, but also has a particular fondness for both Celtic and Wycombe Wanderers.

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