Arsenal are reportedly interested in Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma as their search for attacking reinforcements continues, having missed out on top target Mykhaylo Mudryk.
According to a report from 90min, Arsenal have added Brighton & Hove Albion starlet Kaoru Mitoma to their January transfer shortlist as they look to shore up their attacking options.
The Gunners are having a fantastic season and are currently eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table. While they are winning the title race on the pitch, unfortunately, the same is not the story in the transfer market as far as the north Londoners are concerned.
Mikel Arteta’s side are in the market for a new attacker following Gabriel Jesus’ injury and were heavily linked with Ukrainian winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. They even made the 22-year-old their top target, but they were unwilling to enter into a bidding war with Chelsea, who totally blew the Gunners out of the water in the Mudryk race and agreed to pay Shakhtar Donetsk a reported £89 million.
The Blues also offered Mudryk double the wages on the table at the Emirates Stadium to complete the high-profile hijack in incredible fashion.
Nevertheless, Arsenal have been forced to return to the drawing board, with Barcelona duo Raphinha and Ferran Torres apparently on their list, while Brighton forward Leandro Trossard has also been name-checked. However, Trossard is not the only Seagulls player on Arsenal’s radar, with fleet-footed winger Kaoru Mitoma also attracting admiring glances from the north London outfit.
Mitoma was signed for a measly £2.6 million from Kawasaki Frontale before being loaned to Brighton’s sister club Union Saint-Gilloise last season. He managed to impress enough with his mature and dazzling performances in Belgium for Brighton to offer him a shot on English shores this season.
He has since taken the Premier League by storm, making 13 appearances and contributing three goals and an assist in the process. He has played a big part in the Seagulls’ climb up the Premier League ladder this season and is in line to replace wantaway forward Trossard on the left wing.
The Japanese international has caught the eye with his immense one-vs-one ability, elusiveness, acceleration, incredible balance, technical quality, and high level of game intelligence to top it off.
The 25-year-old ace will add pace, flair, and directness to the Arsenal attack, and his arrival will allow Gabriel Martinelli to move into a central position and fill the void left by Jesus. While he showed at the World Cup and for Brighton at the start of the season that he can also act as a game-changer off the bench if needed.
Mitoma will not be cheap, given how Brighton sold Ben White and Marc Cucurella for more than €50 million, but Mitoma would be an excellent alternative to Mudryk for Arsenal. Still, he would be more cost-effective than someone like Raphinha or Ferran Torres.
The report adds that Arsenal view Trossard “as a more-attainable target” than Mitoma, with the Gunners also said to be keeping tabs on Napoli sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, while technical director Edu has already “reached out to Barcelona as part of his search for possible alternatives” to Mudryk. It remains to be seen who the north Londoners will bring into the attacking department before the window slams shut.
