Arteta has €30m striker idea for Arsenal if ‘goal machine’ is worth the risk

Arsenal could secure a new “goal machine” by bidding €30m for Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic, according to a report from his native Serbia.

Jovic has been frustrated with his lack of progress since joining Real Madrid from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019. The Serbian centre-forward has not been able to match the promise he was showing in the Bundesliga.

Therefore, after just three Real goals in three years – which has also included a six-month spell back at Frankfurt – it could be time for him to move on this summer.

Los Blancos know they are unlikely to get a decent fee for their €60m investment. But they need to gain half of that original price from his sale in 2022, or else the better way to offload him would be on loan again.

According to Serbian source Blic, Arsenal have revived an interest in Jovic, whom Mikel Arteta regards as their potential “new goal machine”.

Centre-forward is an area of need for Arsenal. They lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona in January, and Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract in the summer.

Aware of those upcoming dilemmas, they tried to sign another Serbian striker, Dusan Vlahovic, in the winter. Instead, he opted to move from Fiorentina to Juventus.

Now, Arsenal could try to sign his international colleague as an alternative. Although there are other suitors, he should be easier to acquire if they are willing to make the appropriate investments.

It would be something of a gamble, since he has not been able to find regularity with Real. But back with Frankfurt, Jovic was an exciting prospect, so a change of scenery could give him a new lease of life.

Madrid, for their part, will not object to the potential transfer. Relieving themselves of Jovic’s wages, which are