Arsenal remain within striking distance of the Premier League title despite seemingly falling further behind in their pursuit of glory despite Manchester City’s own severe stumble after a season-ending injury to defensive midfielder Rodri.
The improvements that Liverpool have made under Arne Slot have caused the 2019/20 Premier League champions to pull ahead of the pack, but after blasting five goals against both West Ham and Sporting CP as a follow-up from a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, the Gunners are back awake after injury returns from superstars Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.
Despite the recent offensive outburst, Arsenal’s No. 1 need remains a top goal-scoring striker who plays like a true No. 9, as the club failed to bring that profile of a player to the Emirates this summer, only adding veteran Raheem Sterling from Chelsea to their attack.
So let’s take a look at three top options who could potentially join Arsenal in the January 2025 transfer window and immediately invigorate a stronger title push from the Gunners against a very exciting Liverpool side.
Dusan Vlahovic, Juventus
Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic has been left wanting against bigger clubs this season, and it is fair for Arsenal fans to wonder if he will be any better for them since he’s underwhelmed for the Bianconeri in important games.
But Vlahovic also plays for a Juventus side that has much more flaws and much less talent than Arsenal. His only real sidekick is Kenan Yildiz, who is still too raw and doesn’t profile as favorably outside the 10 role.
Too often, Vlahovic is the one who has to carry the team and create his own chances. If you actually watch him play, you will see so many moments of brilliance from him as a technician, and you can’t help but feel that on a team like Arsenal with a midfield trident of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and Mikel Merino to go with talented creative wingers like Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka, Dusan will be able to shine much more.
Consistency is often a product of circumstance, and Vlahovic can argue that his inconsistencies against top teams are merely a product of his environment, given how poor Juve are as a team at generating chance when they face better defenses.
Vlahovic was once the second-most in-demand striker in European football after only Erling Haaland, who quite literally became the Premier League’s record-breaking goal-scorer in his first season with Manchester City.
There’s a reason why Arsenal have been linked to Vlahovic since 2022. He checks off all the boxes in terms of his age (24), past production (21 goals in the 2020/21 season), size, athleticism, and finishing ability.
If Juventus are open to selling him, which may only be the case if they find a winter replacement, then a reasonable price may be the only thing keeping Vlahovic from joining Arsenal in January.
He should be cheaper than either Victor Osimhen or Viktor Gyokeres, which means that if Vlahovic wants to spread his wings beyond Turin and Juve want to go with someone else, a move could be in the cards.
Viktor Gyokeres, Sporting CP
Viktor Gyokeres should be the dream transfer target for Arsenal, and you wonder if the Gunners would be ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League title race right now if they had signed the Sporting CP star this past summer instead of balking on all striker transfer targets after Benjamin Sesko elected to stay in Leipzig.
If anything, Gyokeres has only increased his stock this season with fantastic performances for both Sporting and the Swedish national team. The 26-year-old marksman has scored 16 goals in 11 Liga NOS appearances this season, on pace to exceed his record of 29 goals in the 2023/24 season.
It’s also easy to forget that Gyokeres is a good all-around striker, too. He had 10 assists last season and is in the 99th percentile among all forwards in both shot-creating actions and successful take-ons.
A silky-smooth dribbler and intelligent No. 9, Gyokeres can bring the goal-scoring upside that Arsenal have been lacking since the heyday of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up top while sacrificing nothing in comparison to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz when talking about creativity.
Arsenal have some good players who can masquerade as No. 9’s, but until they sign someone who can reliably score 20 goals a season and take pressure off the wingers on the inside, they are going to struggle to secure the final points they need to be called Premier League champions.
Gyokeres’ availability in January 2025 is the main thing in dispute, because it’s unclear if Sporting want to wait until next season to sell, especially since the Champions League may be more intriguing for “smaller” teams to compete in with a new format, potentially encouraging Sporting to hold off on selling their most prized asset – who, by the way, notched a hat trick in that competition against defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
Jonathan David, Lille
For the cheapest option who is still worth Arsenal monitoring as a potential starting striker, the Gunners can take a look back at Ligue 1 to scout Lille star Jonathan David.
He’s been rumored for a move over the past few years, even linked to Real Madrid while Karim Benzema was still there in 2022, but David has yet to make his marquee transfer out of France.
The Canadian international has become a more well-rounded player and now has another superstar forward to play off of in underrated right winger Edon Zhegrova, who himself wouldn’t look out of place on a club as grand as Arsenal.
David has a huge frame that he has learned to use well to shield defenders for both his own shots and to create slipped shooting opportunities for others, somewhat like Haaland did at Dortmund.
Still only 24 years old, David scored 24 and 19 goals in his last two Ligue 1 seasons and is currently averaging a career-high 0.69 goals per 90 minutes in the 2024/25 campaign.
Arsenal could wait to sign David for free next summer, but if they don’t see any other options and want to win now, he could be a ready-made starter in 2025. By paying Lille a small fee to guarantee he won’t leave for free, Arsenal could accelerate this transfer, with some suggesting 25 million pounds could be used to make a deal happen.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.