The Gunners fail to meet release fee for Spanish International
Arsenal have suffered another setback in their chase for more firepower up front. The London club are reported by The Mirror to have made an approach for Spanish centre forward Adrian Lopez but were turned down by Atletico Madrid after having failed to meet the striker’s £14 million pound release clause.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is still looking for players to provide the goals for his team after the summer departure of Robin Van Persie, and the failure of summer signings Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud to regularly hit the back of the net. While Theo Walcott has seen a resurgence in form since returning to the side as a striker, his failure to agree a new deal means the club are being forced into looking elsewhere in their search for goals.
Arsenal seem likely to return with an improved after Wenger ruled out another short-term loan deal for New York Red Bulls striker and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Wenger faces limited options with Gervinho likely to miss a number of games whilst away on African Cup of Nations duty with the Ivory Coast and Marouane Chamakh likely to be offloaded during the January window.