Emirates Stadium side ready to break club transfer record to land number one summer target.
Arsene Wenger failed to bring in a fresh attacking option during the January transfer window and was perhaps happy to stick with the players in his squad who had put in solid displays in recent weeks, with Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott both scoring regularly, but the Arsenal boss is ready to stump up a club record fee to land his number one summer target.
Wenger is ready to meet Fiorentina’s apparent €25m (£21.7m) asking price for in-form striker Stevan Jovetic and will hope to beat off interest from London rivals Chelsea, who are also scouting the Montenegrin forward.
The former Partizan Belgrade man had at first been used in a supporting role, sometimes out wide, when he first arrived at the Stadio Artemio Franchi but over the past 18 months Jovetic has been employed in a central striking position to great effect.
Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella, himself a deadly finisher in his playing heyday, has seen Jovetic’s goals and approach keep the Florence club in or around the top six all season and would be loathed to lose the talented 23 year old but may struggle to keep the flair player if Arsenal come calling, especially if Champions League football is on offer for the striker.
With Wenger almost exclusively using Lukas Podolski and Gervinho in wide roles the Gunners manager doesn’t have all that many effective strikers and as such is ready to bid big to land the Fiorentina forward.
Jovetic managed 14 goals in 27 Serie A appearances last term and another eight in 17 starts during the current campaign.