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Josh Williams & Jake Stokes & Tom Canton

Arsenal told £50m 'next Robert Lewandowski' would accept Edu offer after Newcastle pull out

Arsenal may be down and out in the race for Dusan Vlahovic, the Fiorentina striker has armed Edu with the tools to hand Mikel Arteta his very own Robert Lewandowski.

The Gunners boss is said to be on the lookout for a new forward, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah out of contract in the summer and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future at the club remains uncertain.

Edu went toe-to-toe with Europe's elite to sign Vlahovic before missing out on a deal at the hands of Juventus, who have agreed a €75 million (£63m) deal with La Viola for Vlahovic, according to Goal.

While Arsenal's chances of securing a new striker before the end of the winter window have been dented, Vlahovic has left a parting gift for the north Londoners - almost as if someone's ex-wife were to buy their partner a divorce present, 'I'm off to marry someone else who's better than you but here's how to replace me.'

Tom Canton spoke to football scouting writer Josh Williams live on The Arsenal Way 'Analysing Arsenal show' to delve into the prospect of Schick swapping Bayer Leverkusen for the Gunners and whether the Czech international would fit the bill.

Williams kickstarted proceedings by explaining why he's surprised that the striker is yet to have courted more interest than he has from some of Europe'e leading sides.

"I'm quite surprised he hasn't been linked because he's having a really good season," he said. "So far only Robert Lewandowski in the whole of Europe's top five leagues has scored more than his 17 league goals this season excluding penalties.

"He is still only 26-years-old but he's been around a number of clubs; he's been at RB Leipzig, AS Roma."

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in Bayer Leverkusen centre-forward Patrik Schick. (Photo by Ralf Treese/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) (Ralf Treese/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Williams continued by detailing why Arsenal could have a free-hit should they launch a transfer pursuit for Schick's signature before the end of the January transfer window.

"I saw Newcastle trying to get him and the reason they didn't go for him was apparently because he's getting closer to £50 million," he said.

"But, if you look at what Arsenal were willing to pay for Vlahovic then I don't think £50 million would be that bad in this case and the fact that £50 million is being quoted suggests that he can be attainable."

Williams concluded by noting how Leverkusen have just signed a new striker, which could hint at Schick's future with the German side.

"Leverkusen have just signed a lad called Sardar Azmoun from Zenit - probably a long-term replacement," he said.

"I'd like to see Schick in the Premier League, he had a really good Euros and if you remove his time at Roma then he looks like a player who has a really high ceiling - this season only Lewandowski is ahead of him."

Follow our The Arsenal Way trends writer Jake Stokes on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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