Arsenal lining up a move for Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui if reports from Italy are to be believed.

The 25-year-old has been in excellent form for La Dea this season, having scored 14 goals in all competitions.

Retegui has helped his team to 1st place in the Serie A table as well as spearheading their efforts to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds.

Newspaper La Repubblica (via Sport Witness) claim that the Gunners are “serious” about signing the forward and they are “ready to offer” €55m (£45.6m).

Retegui is out injured

The report doesn’t make clear whether Arsenal are hoping to land the Italian international in January or not. However, based on his current fitness, it is likely that a formal bid may only happen at the end of the season.

Retegui has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the last couple of weeks, having missed Atalanta’s draw against Lazio last month and their defeat to Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup on Thursday night.

The striker could return to full fitness soon, though, so it doesn’t completely rule out an offer for the player from the Gunners over the coming weeks.

Arsenal will have competition from a Premier League rival

La Repubblica do mention that Aston Villa are also very keen on securing Retegui’s signature but that would be a surprise considering Unai Emery’s side don’t have any real need for another striker.

Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins are competing fiercely to be in the starting eleven so adding another player into the mix seems unlikely.

From Arsenal’s perspective, Gabriel Jesus’s improved recent form is a massive boost but most supporters would still like the club to add more firepower up front if the money can be found.

Find out who is in Arsenal’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here