Arsenal to trigger £44m exit clause of explosive Bundesliga forward in stunning Andrea Berta swoop – report | OneFootball

Arsenal are reportedly ready to build on their stunning start to the new season by triggering the release clause of a top Bundesliga talent in January, with TEAMtalk assessing whether or not sporting director Andrea Berta will actually take that plunge.

It’s been an incredible week for Arsenal so far, with stunning wins over Tottenham in the north London derby and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and they’ll be looking to cap that off against Chelsea on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s men are now unbeaten in 16 games, lead the Premier League by six points and also sit pretty at the Champions League summit. In short, the first few months of the new campaign could not have gone any better for Arsenal.

However, it appears they are not willing to rest on their laurels and are still looking to strengthen their squad in the January window.

Adding a new striker would appear to be the main priority, given the recent links that also emerged to Porto frontman Samu Aghehowa.

The 29-year-old has a £44million (€50m / $58m) release clause in his contract with the German giants that is said to be exclusively limited to ‘top clubs’ in Europe.

Arsenal are reportedly one of the elite European clubs eligible to trigger the special buy-out clause, along with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The clause will be active during the January transfer window, but Guirassy is prepared to wait until the summer before considering a bigger challenge.

Do Arsenal actually need Serhou Guirassy?

Having splashed out big money to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP last summer, the question has to be asked whether Arsenal need to bring another striker on board.

Alongside the Swede, the Gunners also have Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Mikel Merino, who can operate in the number nine role for manager Mikel Arteta.

Perhaps the fact that Gyokeres has not really hit the ground running, with six goals in 14 games, is part of their thinking – although you could hardly label the Swede as a flop at this early stage of his career in north London.

Gyokeres, Havertz and Jesus are all currently on the sidelines but are expected to return soon. Indeed, Gyokeres and Havertz could be fit in time to face Chelsea this weekend.

Jesus could make his long-awaited comeback from a knee injury next month, although there is a strong possibility that the Brazilian could depart in the summer.

While Guirassy, who has scored 47 goals for Dortmund since joining them in the summer of 2024, would arguably be a strong addition to Arteta’s his age will be a factor to any potential swoop.

The Guinea international will turn 30 in March and Arsenal are much more likely to move for a forward with a younger profile who could act as a deputy to the likes of Gyokeres and Havertz.

Indeed, they have also recently been linked with Levante’s Etta Eyong, who fits the bill in that regard.

First up, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have all sent senior scouts to Poland on multiple occasions this season to watch Jagiellonia’s 17-year-old midfield prodigy Oskar Pietuszewski, sources have revealed to TEAMtalk.

Elsewhere, Arsenal have emerged as frontrunners to sign Elche’s talented midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, but TEAMtalk can reveal that Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester City have also made contact with the player’s representatives, teeing up a furious transfer battle in the January window.

And finally, Paul Merson thinks the “statement” win for Arsenal over Bayern Munich will make Europe sit up and take notice – and he’s named the two absolutely “phenomenal” stars vital for their cause and poised to help them stroll to Premier League glory.