_**The Gunners have long been admirers of West Ham’s attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus \[David Horton/SPP\]**_
THERE is little secret what most Arsenal fans want this Christmas, with a world-class striker yet again at the top of their wishlist.
Gooners have been crying out for a formidable forward for well over two years. And they will be once again optimistically hoping that, despite still not having a sporting director following Edu Gaspar’s shock departure last month, somebody at the club is preparing an alluring package to entice a proven goal-getter to the Emirates this January.
The rumour mill is playing its part, linking the likes of Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres and Juventus frontman Dusan Vlahovic with a potential move to Ashburton Grove.
But much like asking for the latest games console and getting a book voucher, it could well be that nobody at Arsenal is listening.
January is a notoriously difficult transfer window to negotiate, and game-changing attackers are a rare commodity that come with hefty pricetags.
Quizzed on the club’s spending plans, Mikel Arteta, as always, cut a coy figure.
He said: “I fully trust the squad and our players, and the amount of situations we generate in the match, and how little we concede. I fully trust my players.
“It will depend on what player it is, the value of that player, and if there are any other movements in the squad or not, so it’s very difficult to answer.”
The Arsenal boss can expect to face growing questions in the coming weeks about Mohammed Kudus – questions that, of course, Arteta will refuse to answer.
The Gunners have long been admirers of the attacking midfielder and were thought to be close to making a bid for the Ghanaian international before he joined West Ham 16 months ago from Ajax in a £38million deal.
Kudus enjoyed a stellar debut campaign in the Premier League, netting eight goals and six assists. The 24-year-old has grabbed two more goals and an assist in the league so far this season despite serving a five-game ban after admitting violent conduct following his red card against Tottenham back in October.
It’s rumoured that West Ham would be willing to listen to offers if they were eye-watering enough – although Arsenal will pay a big price for stalling on their past interest in the player, with the asking price for Kudus in inflation-busting 2025 expected to be north of £85million.
One way or another, Arsenal need to find a way to get more goals from open play into the team amid criticism that the club has become over-reliant on scoring from set-pieces.
Arteta, however, is taking it all in his stride.
“That’s always the narrative,” said the Spaniard.
“When you score five goals, then another five, and another three, you’re not going to talk about it. When you don’t score a goal, you’re going to come back to that.
“That’s normal, that’s the narrative, but for us it doesn’t change. We want to improve regardless of if we score three or five.”