ARSENAL fans will be as cynical as they are relieved by the mounting speculation this week that the club have finally upped their search for a striker.

There’s no shortage of names being linked with a move to Ashburton Grove. Among the most recurring are Juventus marksman Dusan Vlahovic, Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. At this stage, however, rumours are not enough: the Arsenal faithful won’t be happy until they finally see a formidable forward holding up the famous red and white shirt.

Mikel Arteta has appeared somewhat blasé when previously challenged about the club’s lack of firepower. But the Arsenal boss now seems ready to yield after Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus were sidelined with respective hamstring and knee injuries.

Asked if the club are looking to recruit in the January transfer window, Arteta said: “Yes for sure because we lost two big players. Bukayo, who could be out for up to three months, and then Gabby, who will be out for a long, long, long time. We are going to try for sure. We are actively looking. We will try. Let’s see what we can get.”

In truth, Arsenal were in need of a ruthless goal-getter long before any injuries forced Arteta’s hand.

Being the joint-third top scorers in the Premier League masks just how many chances Arteta’s side squanders week in, week out.

Declan Rice inadvertently shone a light on the problem when he faced the TNT cameras on Wednesday night following the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over north London rivals Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

“We showed intent, pressure, desire – you can tell it was a derby,” said the midfielder. “The feeling is we could have scored 10.

“You don’t need a message when you play Spurs, you know what it means to the fans. We had fire in our belly. The game got stretched late on, but we could have had another five or six.”

Despite their generosity in front of goal, though, Arsenal find themselves just four points behind league leaders Liverpool as they prepare to entertain Aston Villa tomorrow (Saturday) at the Emirates.

Asked if his side are still in the title race, Arteta said: “We are because there’s so much to play for, and we can see how difficult it is for every team to win.”

Arteta added: “We are on a really consistent run in the Premier League.

“It is now about recovery, then Aston Villa on Saturday.”