Arsenal look set to miss out on a rumoured January transfer target as Mikel Arteta tries to rally his squad for the remainder of the season.
The Gunners were dumped out of the FA Cup at the Third Round stage after a penalty shootout defeat to ten-man Manchester United over the weekend.
That loss ended a potential trophy route for Arteta, with the Spanish boss under growing pressure after failing to win any silverware at the clubs since 2020 and their Premier League title challenge also faltering at the start of 2025.
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After the United defeat, Arteta dodged questions over potentially bringing in a new attacker this month, as his forward line of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard failed to breach the Red Devils defence.
Bukayo Saka is sidelined until mid-February following surgery and Gabriel Jesus faces a period out of action after being stretchered off with a knee issue at the weekend.
Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo – who already has 13 EPL goals so far this season – is a rumoured target for Arteta but Bees boss Thomas Frank has seemingly severed that link until at least the summer.
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Bryan Mbeumo’s Brentford contact, transfer value
Cameroon international Mbeumo has consistently improved with each season at Brentford as he looks to fill the gap left by Ivan Toney at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Talks have been ongoing since the start of the season on a contract extension, but Brentford already have the option to increase his current deal by 12 months, at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
With no major pressure to sell their star asset, and a transfer value of around £50m ($60m), Arsenal always faced a battle to secure a mid-season deal and Frank has looked to end the speculation.
“Are we expecting more incomings? We’re not close on that. We are not planning anything [in either direction]. It depends on the injury situation and it is a little more positive”.
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