Arsenal Rumors: Gunners Make Stunning Offer For Lionel Messi's Argentina Co-Striker – Report

Arsenal may already be working on the transfer of a Serie A striker to bolster its attack this summer, a report has suggested.

The past season has exposed a couple of loopholes in Arsenal’s game, including the need to add intensity in the forward position. There have been a few targets on Arsenal’s radar, but the Gunners may have already moved up a notch in the potential transfer of Lazio striker Joaquin Correa, Italian outlet La Repubblica reported.

Lazio would prefer to receive a bid amounting to around €35 million ($42 million) for Correa, but at the moment, Arsenal has made an offer of about €20 million ($24 million), the report said. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Apart from Arsenal, reports said Everton is also keen on signing Correa, and the two English Premier League clubs could have a bidding war this summer.

While Correa is now being tagged as a possible signing, the Gunners’ veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka, meanwhile, is close to completing his move to AS Roma, the report added.

In an earlier report, Xhaka is said to be Arsenal’s bargaining chip in a potential swap deal involving Borussia Mönchengladbach star Denis Zakaria. However, it appears that the said deal is likely to collapse as the two-time Swiss Super League champion has finally decided to join AS Roma for a five-year contract.

Contrary to what the reports say, however, Xhaka recently hinted at his desire to stay and live with his family in north London.

“There are always rumors at the end of the season, that’s for sure,” Xhaka told RP Online. “But I still have a two-year contract in London [with Arsenal] and I am very happy with my family here.”

However, the 28-year-old also admitted that Arsenal isn’t a winning team at the moment.

“Of course, it was a good year for me personally, I’ve always played and performed, but the place at the end of the season is, of course, really bitter and disappointing for us,” he told Swiss publication Blick. “There were certainly a number of issues (last season) that didn’t go optimally, but there is now no point in looking back.”

Correa, on the other hand, has been playing the best seasons of his career at Lazio so far. This past season alone, the Argentine forward has bagged a total of 11 goals in 36 matches for the Serie A outfit.

The 26-year-old also secured a spot in Argentina’s national team this year, playing the role of co-striker alongside Lionel Messi.