‘He’s not been linked’ – Troy Deeney tells Arsenal to explore shock move for Premier League forward

Troy Deeney says Arsenal should pursue a move for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa as an alternative to their top two targets Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko.

The Gunners are intent on bringing in attacking reinforcements this summer on the back of another trophyless campaign under Mikel Arteta.

While the likes of Rodrgyo and Nico Williams are being considered out wide, Arsenal’s absolute priority for the transfer window is capturing an out-and-out centre-forward capable of scoring upwards of 30-goals-a-season.

The north Londoners had been hopeful of wrapping up an agreement for Sporting sensation Gyokeres, with the prolific Sporting striker said to be keen on a proposed switch to the Emirates.

However, Arsenal have grown increasingly ‘fed up’ by the drawn-out negotiations with both Gyokeres’ camp and Sporting, prompting the club to focus their attentions on RB Leipzig’s Sesko instead.

‘It just seems that Arsenal are dragging their feet a little bit in terms of getting the striker,’ ex-Watford captain Deeney said of Arsenal’s search for a striker on talkSPORT.

‘It’s been a talking point since they basically bottled it in January with going to get that last little bit, get it over the line.

‘They obviously went up from with Mikel Merino, they had Kai Havertz, it just felt like this was a season that Arsenal needed to get a striker in and it feels like they’re still dragging their feet.

‘There’s not an abundance of strikers out there.

‘They’re linked with the likes of Sesko, Gyokeres, [Victor] Osimhen, [Ollie] Watkins… they haven’t got any of them through the door.’

According to Deeney, Arsenal must stop ‘dragging their feet’ and instead take note of how Liverpool are getting much of their transfer business done at the start of the summer.

He added: ‘When you look at Liverpool, they’re going, “Bang! Let’s get the business done now”, they’ve got [Jeremie] Frimpong in, [Florian] Wirtz looks like it’s going to be done by the end of the week, [Milos] Kerkez and then they’re going to look at a striker as well.

‘They’re looking like they’re getting all their deals done. Even Manchester United have managed to get [Matheus] Cunha over the line, there’s talk about [Bryan] Mbeumo.

‘I feels to me like Arsenal are dragging their feet a little bit in this part of the season which everyone knows they need to get sorted.’

Deeney believes Wissa could be a good fit for Arsenal given his versatility and proven pedigree in the Premier League.

‘Do you know one player who isn’t linked? I was just thinking about this… who out there could they get done?’ he went on.

‘Let’s say Arsenal don’t want to spend more £60-65m… what about Wissa from Brentford? He’s not even been linked.

‘I think he fits Mikel Arteta going across that front three, he can go anywhere.

‘It just feels a little bit like they don’t want to get the striker, that’s my initial feeling.’

Wissa enjoyed far and away his best season yet in the English top flight last term, racking up 19 goals and four assists to help Brentford to a tenth-placed finish.

The 28-year-old DR Congo international has just one year remaining on his current contract at the Gtech Community Stadium.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.