Flash back to January 2022, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left for Barcelona in acrimonious circumstances, Alexandre Lacazette was in decline, and Arsenal fans were crying out for a clinical option in the final third.
Those pleas fell on deaf ears, as Mikel Arteta's side failed to strike a deal for that ruthless finisher and ultimately paid the price for it, missing out on a top-four finish by a whisker as North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur nabbed the final Champions League spot.
Three years later, a similar tale is unfolding at the Emirates, where the Gunners are yet to welcome a single new face to the club on the men's side despite losing both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus to serious injuries over the past couple of months.
An overworked Kai Havertz and under-experienced Nathan Butler-Oyedeji represent Arsenal's only two recognised centre-forward options at present, and should the Gunners not manage to address such shortages before 11pm on Monday, their already thin hopes of reining in Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table will be diminished further.
Arteta has affirmed numerous times that his backroom team are working around the clock to find him a game-changing option, though, and here, Sports Mole looks at four realistic targets Arsenal could make a move for on transfer deadline day.
Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich | 19)
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Expected to be the hottest commodity on the market during transfer deadline day, Bayern Munich protege Mathys Tel put several European giants on red alert when it was revealed that he had decided to seek out a new challenge away from the Allianz Arena.
Tottenham Hotspur allegedly made the first move for the 19-year-old, whom Spurs chairman Daniel Levy spoke face-to-face with, but Tel was not convinced by the Tottenham project and rejected the chance to move to that half of North London.
However, Tel could still end up in the English capital with Arsenal, who are reported to be exploring the conditions of a deal for the 2005-born attacker, and they are rumoured to have received a major boost in their pursuit on Sunday.
Manchester United were understood to have firmed up their interest on the penultimate day of the window, only for negotiations to collapse, potentially giving Arsenal a clear run at the 6ft attacker.
Tel's talent and promise is inarguable, but the France Under-21 international is far from the finished product, and Arteta may very well scope out a more experienced option rather than pile enormous pressure on a teenager's shoulders.
Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus | 25)
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During the aforementioned January 2022 window, Juventus hitman Dusan Vlahovic was seen as the natural successor to the departing Aubameyang while the Serbia international was making nets bulge for fun in Fiorentina colours.
However, the consensus now is that Vlahovic's agents were simply using Arsenal's name as a negotiation tactic in talks with Juventus, who beat the Gunners to the capture of the 25-year-old but have never really seen the brilliant best of him.
Over a half-century of goals is hardly a bad return, but head coach Thiago Motta notably selected new arrival Randal Kolo Muani to lead the line over Vlahovic against Napoli on January 25, and the Paris Saint-Germain loanee netted Juve's only goal in that 2-1 defeat.
The former Fiorentina men was again on the bench for Sunday's home clash with Empoli, where Kolo Muani struck two goals, but Vlahovic did come off the bench to bag a 90th-minute strike of his own.
Arsenal have allegedly already failed with one approach to take Vlahovic for the remainder of the season, but with the Serbian only under contract for another 18 months and Kolo Muani making a fast start to life in Turin, there is no harm in the Gunners giving it a second go.
Jonathan David (Lille | 25)
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From a player out of contract in 2026 to one who could leave for nothing in mid-2025, not a single transfer window has gone by without renewed speculation about the future of Lille marksman Jonathan David over the past few years.
The Canada international made his mark in Ligue 1 instantly, helping Lille end Paris Saint-Germain's perpetual reign of dominance in the 2020-21 campaign, and he has bagged at least 12 goals in each of his five seasons in the top flight of French football.
David wore the captain's armband and provided a goal and assist in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Saint-Etienne, but Monday will surely be Lille's last chance to recoup a small fee for the 25-year-old, who is not expected to extend his contract beyond the end of the season.
As pivotal as David is to Lille's setup, it would be intriguing to see whether an offer between the £15m and £20m mark would be enough to test Les Dogues' resolve, especially after the French side struck a deal to sign former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom on loan for the rest of the season.
Igor Jesus (Botafogo | 23)
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Away from the spotlight of Europe's big five leagues, 23-year-old Botafogo striker Igor Jesus is believed to have caught the attention of Arsenal chiefs after bursting onto the Brasileiro and international scene.
Jesus represented Shabab Al-Ahli in the United Arab Emirates for four years between 2020 and 2024, registering 63 direct goal contributions in 88 matches before returning to his homeland last summer, and he has quickly readjusted to the demands of South American football.
Botafogo completed a Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores double in 2024 thanks to the 23-year-old, who scored three goals and provided two assists in six matches in the latter competition, form that also attracted the attention of Brazil boss Dorival Junior.
After scoring the winner on his senior international debut - a 2-1 World Cup qualifying success over Chile on October 11 - Jesus provided an assist in a 4-0 pummelling of Peru five days later and subsequently started both matches with Venezuela and Uruguay in November.
Arsenal have used their South American connections to strike deals for Gabriel Martinelli and the less successful Marquinhos in recent times, but as Jesus is contracted to Botafogo until New Year's Eve 2027, the Gunners cannot expect to land him on the cheap.
Could Arsenal do any other business on deadline day?
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Arsenal can forget about bringing their pursuits of Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres forward in what little time remains of the January transfer window, but they could still boost their coffers for a summer pursuit through a sale or two.
Out-of-favour left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is seemingly the first name on the chopping block, as the Ukraine international is understood to be on the radar of Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid after entering the last 18 months of his deal.
Whether either continental giant does indeed make a formal approach for Zinchenko only time will tell, but Arsenal have been told to consider any offers from £15m onwards for the former Manchester City man.
However, fellow left-back Kieran Tierney is not expected to follow Zinchenko out of the exit door, as Celtic are resigned to waiting until the summer before reuniting with their erstwhile academy starlet.
Ben Knapton
