Arsenal are planning a winter swoop for talented Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, as Mikel Arteta looks to reinforce his attacking unit in a bid to bolster his team’s title aspirations.
The Gunners signed Raheem Sterling on a season-long loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline, after the acquisitions of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Neto. On top of these, they completed the permanent signing of goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford.
With manager Mikel Arteta, who penned a new three-year deal at the Emirates Stadium last week, showing faith in Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to lead Arsenal’s attack currently, the Spaniard has already set his sights on beefing up his striker options when the transfer window reopens on January 1, 2025.
Ajax’s Brian Brobbey has reportedly emerged as a target for Arsenal, who won the North London Derby bragging rights by beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Sunday in the Premier League. The Netherlands international was loosely linked with a summer move to Manchester United before Erik ten Hag acquired the services of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna.
Brobbey, 22, has revived his stuttering career since re-joining Ajax from RB Leipzig in 2022. After graduating from the famed Ajax academy, he rose to prominence for his boyhood club before RB Leipzig lured him away in the summer of 2021. However, he failed to cut the mustard at RB Leipzig before returning to Ajax on loan in January 2022.
The Dutch centre-forward has gone from strength to strength since then. He registered 22 goals and 12 assists in 43 games across all competitions as Ajax suffered a forgettable 2023/24 season.
Jonathan David is Arsenal’s primary target
Arsenal will only turn attention to Brobbey if they fail to land their top striker target LOSC Lille’s Jonathan David next year.
Jonathan David has been a prolific goalscorer for Lille ever since he made the switch from Genk in 2020. He scored 26 goals in all competitions during the previous campaign, thereby, attracting interest from a host of European clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea and Napoli. The Canada international has begun the new term very well which has further seen his stock rise.
However, David has entered the final year of his contract at Lille. The Ligue 1 club are trying their best to keep him at the club but the 24-year-old wants a different challenge in his career either in the Premier League or Italy.
Arsenal have been in touch with the Canadian’s entourage ahead of a potential January swoop as Arteta looks to land David in a cut-price deal in January. It will be interesting to watch who the Gunners end up signing to bolster their striker force.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.