Arsenal have received a huge boost in their pursuit of Atalanta attacker Ademola Lookman after he fell out with manager Gian Piero Gasperini.
The Gunners are keen to add a striker during the summer transfer window after they saw a bid rejected for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in January.
Furthermore, both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are injured, exposing Arsenal’s lack of depth up front. It means they will likely sign a goal scorer in the summer.
They had been linked to Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman who has scored 15 goals in 28 games for the Serie A side this season. It now looks more likely that he will leave in the summer.
After a recent Champions League game against Club Brugge, Lookman came on as a substitute and scored, but he then missed a penalty which would have given Atalanta a chance to get back into the tie.
Following the game, manager Gasperini said that Lookman is “one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen”. The manager’s comments sparked Lookman to hit back at Gasperini in a statement on X by saying that his comments were “deeply disrespectful”.
— Ademola Lookman (@Alookman_) February 19, 2025
He also said: “I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here…this makes what happened last night even more hurtful”.
Lookman could demand transfer out of Atalanta
After the recent events, it looks more and more likely that Lookman could demand to leave the club in the summer, especially if Gasperini is planning on staying at the club.
The Nigerian has been subject to interest from Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League, and if he requests a move, Atalanta may be forced into a sale for less than Lookman’s value.
His expected market value sits at around £46m, as he is the fourth-top scorer in the Serie A this season, behind two strikers also linked to the Gunners in Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean.
