Arsenal now face being hijacked by Tottenham after their long-winded attempts to sign Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, but the Gunners view one high-profile forward as a viable alternative.
A move for Eze has been on the cards at Arsenal for some time, with reports from as far back as early last month claiming that the 27-year-old is keen to join Mikel Arteta's side following "positive" talks with his representatives (Ben Jacobs).
Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze reacts
Since then, it's been repeatedly stated that talks with Eze's camp have continued (Fabrizio Romano), but Arsenal have stalled on making a formal bid to Palace for the England international despite some rumours of significant progress.
Eze has a £68 million release clause in his contract (excluding bonuses), which is now believed to expire this Friday despite previous reports it ran out on August 1, though it was apparently never sporting director Andrea Berta's intention to activate it - as the Italian believes he can strike a deal for around £55 million (talkSPORT).
Arsenal BERTA
However, Arsenal's hesitancy now appears to be having dire consequences.
North London rivals are now in talks over a deal for Eze, as they look to back Thomas Frank with the signings of both Palace's star number 10 and Man City winger Savinho, so Berta may need to act quickly if he's to avoid being beaten to the punch.
A major worry for Arsenal is that Eze is believed to be keen on a move to Tottenham, and right now, it appears Frank's side are the ones who've moved ahead in the race for his signature.
In a more encouraging update, Berta and Arteta do have other options in mind if they fail in their pursuit of the ex-QPR sensation.
Arsenal view Real Madrid star Rodrygo as "strong" Eberechi Eze alternative
According to CaughtOffside, one of them is £207,000-per-week Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.
Real Madrid's Rodrygo-1
The Brazil international's future at the Bernabeu, as it has done for most of the summer, remains uncertain, and Man City are actually considering a deal for Rodrygo to replace the potentially Tottenham-bound Savinho.
This transfer domino of wingers will be intriguing to keep an eye on this week, but Arsenal are apparently not out of the race for Real's winger just yet.
CaughtOffside state that Arsenal view Rodrygo as a "strong fallback option" in case their deal for Eze fails.
Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly in action with Real Madrid's Rodrygo
Interestingly enough, Spurs actually held talks with Rodrygo's representatives too, before seemingly moving on to Eze and Savinho.
The South American is a player of obvious quality, fresh off the back of a campaign where he bagged 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions - the exact same number of goal contributions as Eze.
However, City's fresh presence in the race for Rodrygo poses another significant threat to Arsenal, so again, Berta is forced into making a quick decision - whether to rival Tottenham for Eze, or rival Pep Guardiola's side for the 24-year-old.
Before they can even make a move for Rodrygo, Arsenal will have to sell a left-winger, most likely Leandro Trossard, who's entered the final 11 months of his contract.