Arsenal are willing to break the bank for Dusan Vlahovic in January - to stop him going elsewhere in the summer.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has admitted they are "open" to doing a big deal in this window and signing a striker is a priority with Alexandre Lacazette out of contract in the summer and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of favour.
But they face major competition for the red-hot Fiorentina striker who has been one of the most prolific marksmen in Europe in the past two seasons.
Arteta received major backing last summer and they are ready to move again if they can get it done this month knowing the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Newcastle and a host of other European clubs are watching closely.
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The Gunners hierarchy may have been prompted to accelerate negotiations with both Vlahovic and Fiorentina in the wake of their dismal showing in the FA Cup.
Arsenal were dumped out of the competition at the third round stage for just the second time in 25 years, both occasions coming away to Nottingham Forest.
Lewis Grabban notched the only goal of the game late on to deliver a true FA Cup upset as Arsenal failed to better or even match last year's achievement of reaching the fourth round.
The Gunners could have little complaint over the result come full-time as they failed to lay a glove on their hosts despite naming a host of first-team stars.
The likes of Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all featured but struggled to make any kind of meaningful impact in what was a particularly noise City Ground.
"We were not good enough and we have to apologise for it," Arteta said after the match.
"I don’t want to use excuses, I expect the team I put out to do better and when you don’t in the cup you are out.
"Today showed we were not capable of winning against Forest away from home and didn’t put in the level to win the game. It’s a collective issue and today we have not done it."
What may concern Arteta most is Arsenal's feeble attacking output from both Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette.
Though the latter was introduced with just 20 minutes left to play, both had enough time to contribute far more than they did with the Gunners failing to register a single shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes.
The best chance of the game from an Arsenal perspective fell to Nketiah after Saka picked him out with a delightful cross but the England U-21 star fluffed his lines and sent his header well-wide of Brice Samba's goal.
Failing to truly test the goalkeeper of a side a division below is a damning indictment of how desperately Arsenal need to bolster their attacking options.
All three main first-team strikers at the club have huge question marks over their future and if there is even a slither of a chance Arsenal can secure Vlahovic's signature before the end of the window the Gunners must do all they can.
The 21-year-old Serbian international has 16 goals in 19 Serie A appearances this term and equalled the record number of league goals scored in a calendar year in 2021.
Vlahovic bagged 33 and matched Cristiano Ronaldo's record in the process.
