Arsenal line up Porto's Taremi as Gabriel Jesus backup

Karan Tejwani

7 Oct 2022 03:35 CDT
3 min read

Arsenal have had a flying start to the season and sit top of the Premier League, having won seven of their opening eight matches of the season so far.

Article continues under the video

The Gunners invested heavily in their squad and the rewards are showing, with their new signings impressing and older players buying into Mikel Arteta’s methods more.

Arsenal signed the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and Oleksandr Zinchenko over the summer, and they have impressed for the club in recent weeks.

Now, though, Arsenal are planning for the future with a view towards getting a back-up forward to Jesus, possibly as early as the January transfer window.

Arsenal interested in Porto star

According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Arsenal are eyeing up a move for Porto forward Mehdi Taremi in January, with a view towards bringing the 30-year-old to the Emirates Stadium in January.

Arsenal’s recent transfer policy has been to sign younger players, usually under the age of 25, so this goes against their recent trends of signing players.

Several clubs across England and Europe were interested in signing Taremi last summer, but a move for him never materialized as Porto blocked out any possible move.

🇮🇷 Taremi tonight = 🅰️🅰️#UCL pic.twitter.com/5rLK5Uuomq
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 4, 2022

It was for good reason as well as Taremi has had a good start to the season with Porto, netting seven goals and adding six assists across 11 appearances in all competitions this season.

He is also expected to fly out to Qatar later this year for the World Cup with Iran, and there is a fear that good performances there could add more competition for his signature in January.

Whether Arsenal move for him will be interesting to see but the need for another forward is clear: losing Jesus would be Eddie Nketiah is their only other senior option for the role and Taremi’s experience could be valuable.