Arsenal Risk Repeating Past Mistakes With Shock Links to Long-Term Striker Target

Arsenal have reportedly held “discussions” with Galatasaray regarding a stunning and arguably misguided deal for striker Victor Osimhen.

The Nigeria international has been a figure of interest among Arsenal’s recruitment team for more than a decade. Back when Osimhen was turning heads at the U-17 World Cup in 2015, the Gunners made a push to snap up the teenager only to be rejected. “Yes Arsenal is a good team for young players,” the striker revealed at the time, “but Wolfsburg is the best club for me.”

During a career which took him to Lille, Napoli and eventually Galatasaray, Osimhen remained constantly linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal among his top admirers. Still only 27, Osimhen could yet make that long-awaited switch after The Telegraph reported that talks between the champions of Türkiye and England have taken place.

It’s not yet clear which party initiated the contact, or what it would take to prise away a center forward who cost Galatasaray around $86 million (€75 million) just 12 months ago. Osimhen, for his part, wasn’t in a hurry to quash the speculation.

‘What Comes Next’—Osimhen Replies to Arsenal Transfer Links

Victor Osimhen is also a long-time target for Chelsea. | Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images

Media outlets are often accused of exaggerating harmless comments made by players at the center of transfer sagas. Yet, it isn’t hard for these individuals to offer a blunt rebuttal. Osimhen notably rejected that opening when quizzed on potential links away from Istanbul this week.

“There are always rumors during the transfer windows,” he warned. “I’ll focus on my job. I’m focused on my work. We’ll see and think about what comes next then.”

Osimhen has a contract until 2029 and stands out as Galatasaray’s clear talisman. The two-time Turkish champion boasts 61 goals in 75 appearances since arriving on the shores of the Bosphorus two years ago. While those are impressive numbers and Osimhen’s infectious style of play makes for a gripping highlight reel, Arsenal have been duped by this mirage before.

Why Arsenal Should Avoid Osimhen

Viktor Gyökeres — Arsenal are the reigning Premier League champions. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

A physically dominant center forward with a remarkable scoring record (in a division outside Europe’s top five leagues) sounds awfully familiar. Viktor Gyökeres had an even better goal ratio for Sporting CP than Osimhen yet still flattered to deceive during a testing debut season at Arsenal.

As the burly Swede discovered, the vast majority of Premier League defenders can cope with a hulking center forward so often used to running into space which doesn’t exist in England’s top flight. Despite his overall haul of 21 strikes across all competitions last term, Gyökeres didn’t score a single open play goal against a team from within the Premier League’s top six last term.

At least Gyökeres was able to convert some penalties against sides outside the elite. Osimhen’s injury track record suggests he would struggle to get enough minutes to match his namesake’s contributions. Across the previous six seasons, the 27-year-old has missed a combined 82 matches through a wide variety of physical ailments—that’s an average of more than 13 per year. Arsenal are already cursed by enough attacking fitness doubts without investing millions in a striker made of glass.

Whether Arsenal even need an orthodox center forward of any robustness is another matter to consider.

The Arsenal Spine. pic.twitter.com/Sed5xLGdxg
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) August 9, 2026

Arteta has made it clear that the reigning league champions need to build from their position of strength. “The ambition of the club, it’s big,” the Arsenal boss explained this week, “we want to improve the squad, we want to evolve the squad, and in order to achieve that, we have obviously detected some areas that can be strengthened. That’s what we are trying to do.”

Yet, Arteta already has Gyökeres and Kai Havertz at his disposal as options through the middle, with Mikel Merino proven to be an able emergency alternative. What the Gunners really need is a marquee arrival at left wing as an upgrade on the potentially outgoing Gabriel Martinelli.

Vinícius Júnior is no longer a viable candidate, but other candidates exist in the market. Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola could be available at a premium, while Atlético Madrid’s Julián Alvarez is versatile enough to cover both the wing and through the middle.

Arteta has fretted about how few available players could actually improve his starting XI. It’s not entirely clear that Osimhen would belong to this small group.

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