Arsenal have been handed a fresh boost to their hopes of signing of a free agent to slove Mikel Arteta’s current striker crisis.
The Gunners opted not to sign a striker last summer despite calls for them to do so from fans. Then, in the January transfer window, the club once again failed to bring anyone in despite having a bid rejected for Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins, but now the club’s strategy has somewhat backfired.
Within the first weeks of February, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz have suffered injuries. The latter’s in particular – a season-ender – leaves Mikel Arteta with no true central attacking options with Gabriel Jesus also ruled out for the term.
Bukayo Saka is also absent for now, leaving the only three options available just Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri.
One possible way Arsenal could negate the issue, particularly with their lack of centre forward options, is to make use of the free agency market. Such players without a club are able to join one without the constraints of regular transfer periods but can only play if there is space for them to be registered.
“I’ll explore every possible situation and make a decision from there,” the manager has said on Friday when asked about the subject.
And one free agent that could be targeted is Wissam Ben Yedder most recently of AS Monaco – where last season he scored 20 goals.
In total the Frenchman scored 118 times for the Ligue 1 club, making 201 appearances between 2019 and 2024. Playing for Sevilla and Toulouse beforehand, his career tally as a goal poacher stands at 259.
Were they to seriously take Ben Yedder’s signing into consideration as a short-term solution, Gianluca Di Marzio has revealed the positive news that they would no longer be challenged by Serie A side Venezia.
The Italians were reportedly in discussions to end the striker’s seven-month wait to find a new club, however their ownership are said to have ended this prospect because of off-field events.
Like Venezia, Arsenal too would be handed a moral judgement with Ben Yedder. Last November the French judicial system handed the 34-year-old a suspended two-year prison sentence for sexual assault.
In a separate legal case still being pursued at the time of his sentence, the ex-France international was handed preliminary charges of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault over another alleged incident in the south of France.
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- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
