Gunners may swoop for Onana

Striker search may be put on hold, as Arsenal are linked with Everton midfielder

Amadou Onana may be an ideal long-term replacement for Thomas Partey [SPP]

SHOCKED Arsenal supporters could be set to see the club’s search for a season-saving striker shelved until the summer in favour of strengthening other key areas of the pitch.

Goals are proving an all-too-rare commodity for Mikel Arteta’s side, and fans are desperate to see the north Londoners bring in a forward this month to help get the Gunners’ faltering Premier League title challenge back on track.

It was thought that Ivan Toney was top of the wish list, but the marksman has seemingly made it clear that he wants to stay and “repay” current club Brentford after they supported him during his eight-month ban for breaching the FA’s rules on betting on football.

Another stumbling block comes in the shape of the £100million price-tag that the Bees are believed to have slapped on Toney – a sum that shatters Arsenal’s January budget as they juggle Financial Fair Play regulations following their £208m spending spree last summer.

With other top strikers likely to mean similar spending commitments, the only way it seems the club will strengthen their attack this month is the unlikely scenario that they can agree a loan deal for a potential target with the option to buy in the summer, as Tottenham did this week when they signed Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.

That, however, isn’t an option that would help with Toney as rules state that no top-flight side can have more than one player on loan from another Premier League club at any time, and Arsenal, of course, already have Brentford goalkeeper David Raya on loan.

The Gunners fired blanks against Liverpool on Sunday in the FA Cup – dominating the match but yet again failing to score as they were beaten 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

So perhaps the last thing Gooners were expecting this week was to see their club linked with Everton’s defensive midfielder Amadou Onana. Arsenal have long been admirers of the Belgian international, although any deal won’t come cheap with the Toffees reportedly demanding a fee in the region of £50m for the 22-year-old.

Onana is seen as the ideal long-term replacement for injury-hit Thomas Partey, and is said to be keen on moving to Ashburton Grove. But with some reports claiming negotiations between the clubs haven’t even come close to starting yet, this is a story that could run until the final hours of the transfer window. The coming weeks could be even less dramatic than hoped with Arteta admitting it was a “possibility” Arsenal may not add to their squad at all in January.

Quizzed about his spending plans after the Liverpool defeat, the Gunners boss said: “We’re open for the transfer market, but the emphasis is on making the most of the players we have. We’ll work with the club to understand if there are any possibilities, and whether we have any good options. But first of all, we will focus on the players we already have.”

Tackling Arsenal’s goal-shy streak, Arteta added: “It is very difficult but if the team is getting hammered and not playing well, and not deserving to win football matches, I would be much more worried. I am worried because I love winning and we have to win many more games.

“At the moment that is the thing we have to change and probably what has to be reset is up here [mentally].”