Arsene Wenger has an array of talented players to choose from in the midfield department but the same cannot be said about his strike force. The likes of Cazorla, Wilshere, Ramsey, Flamini, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta and club-record Mesut Ozil are all vying for a place in Wenger’s midfield, whereas the Frenchman has only Olivier Giroud as his main go-to frontman.

There was no adequate replacement bought in to cover for the departures of Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh in the summer. Although Nicklas Bendtner was recalled from his loan spell at Juventus, he only stayed with the club because Wenger failed to bring in Demba Ba on loan from Chelsea on the final day of the window.

Bendtner has hardly been utilized by Wenger leading to a possible burn-out for his number one striker, Giroud. However, with the January transfer window fast approaching, the Gunners have been linked to quite a few strikers and it is only a question of when, and not if, a new forward will arrive at the Emirates.

According to the Daily Mail, the north London club are keeping tabs on Alvaro Morata, who has scored 2 league goals in 9 appearances so far. Real Madrid are open to the possibility of sending the 21-year-old on loan in January to get some match experience.

However, any deal will hinge upon their success in bringing a new striker to the club, with Madrid reportedly interested in Liverpool forward Luis Suarez and Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski.

The former was linked with a move last summer, but Madrid did not make any move due to the arrival of Gareth Bale in a club-record deal. Lewandowski, who scored four goals against them in last year’s Champions League semi-final, has already announced his decision of quitting Dortmund without revealing his next destination.

Even if Madrid do allow Morata to go out on loan, Arsenal will have to contend with the interest of their London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, as Andre Villas-Boas has also identified Morata as an option to boost his forward department.