Arsenal are reportedly looking at Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi as a potential January target as manager Arsene Wenger prepares to strengthen his weak strike unit in the new year.

Olivier Giroud remains the Gunners’ only proven striker, and the recent news of Danny Welbeck’s long-term injury has only served to highlight how short they are up front, per BBC Sport.

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes.net (h/t Metro‘s Will Giles), Wenger is targeting 22-year-old Icardi as the man to solve his strike problems.

The Argentinian certainly has the pedigree to make a big impact at the Emirates having netted 22 times in Serie A last season, per WhoScored.com.

Arsenal have been crying out for such a prolific finisher for some time now, as even Giroud has only ever managed a maximum of 16 goals in a league season since his arrival in north London in 2012.

As noted by Fichajes.net (h/t Giles), though, Icardi will not come cheap, if at all, as he only recently signed a new contract with Inter that ties him to the club until 2019.

Having not signed a single outfield player during the summer transfer window, Arsenal are surely going to have to be active in the market in January, per Bleacher Report’s Andy Brassell:

One of Arsenal’s many reported prospective targets during the summer—quite a list despite none of them actually signing for the Gunners—was Julian Draxler, who eventually moved from Schalke to Wolfsburg.

The 21-year-old has explained that he decided to stay in the Bundesliga as he does not feel he is ready yet for a move abroad, per German newspaper Bild (h/t Colin Harvey in the Daily Star): “From the outside, maybe my move isn’t understandable. Schalke are a great club in Germany. Many people thought that if I left it would be for a top foreign club, but I decided not to go abroad as I didn’t feel ready for that kind of move.”

Arsenal should not give up hope of eventually snapping up Draxler, and they should keep tabs on his progress at Wolfsburg.

He is immensely talented, and although his value is likely to only increase—Wolfsburg had to shell out a lot to sign him—he would theoretically fit very well into the Arsenal setup. Bundesliga expert Clark Whitney suggested it was the right time to sell the player:

In the short-term, though, the Gunners need greater depth in the strike department. Even if they are successful in the run up to Christmas, they cannot launch a season-long title challenge with their current squad.

Thus whether it be a move for Icardi or an alternative option, Arsenal and Wenger look set to be busy in the new year.

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