How Arsenal can land lethal striker for £38m amid Chelsea interest

Arsenal continue their summer transfer window hunt for a new striker as the latest reports link the Gunners with an interest in Girona’s Artem Dovbyk.

The Ukrainian 26-year-old was bought for just £6.5 million from SK Dnipro-1 in 2023’s summer transfer window. However, Dovbyk has fast become a hot topic of transfer conversation after recording 35 goal contributions - including 25 goals - for the La Liga side in just 41 appearances.

According to reports from Diari de Girona, via SportWitness, Arsenal are now the latest Premier League to take an interest in the goal-scoring sensation, but they could well be facing competition from Atletico Madrid and Napoli for his signature. Chelsea were also linked with a move for the Ukrainian star last month with GiveMeSport reporting that Dovbyk was being scouted as a Victor Osimhen ‘alternative’.

The links between the Stamford Bridge side and Dovbyk have since cooled but with the emergence of Arsenal as a potential suitor, the Blues could revisit their aforementioned intrigue once again.

Girona are said to be well aware of the ongoing attention Dovbyk is enjoying and have a ‘clear plan’. It is noted that the club side will only be willing to let their star forward go if one of the interested parties ‘get close’ to Dovbyk’s release clause which currently stands at between €40-50m.

There is currently no information on whether Mikel Arteta’s side would be willing to pay such a figure, even though Dovbyk’s incredible season may speak for itself. The Gunners interest in Dovbyk comes shortly after learning that AC Milan appeared to be leading the way in the race for Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee and Benjamin Sesko had signed a new deal with RB Leipzig.

With both Arsenal’s former transfer priorities now becoming increasingly harder to acquire, reports once again brought the Gunners back to Napoli’s Osimhen. However, with Osimhen not likely to be let go for anything less than £100m, Dovbyk is appearing to provide a much cheaper option.

Dovbyk, who endured an unsuccessful stint for the Danish side Midtjylland before heading to Spain, has 28 international caps and ten goals for his country. He is currently representing Ukraine at the ongoing European Championships in Germany this summer.