Nottingham Forest could rival Arsenal for the signing of in-form Brentford striker Yoane Wissa before the January transfer window closes.
Both clubs are looking at strengthening their forward lines for different reasons following encouraging midweek results.
Forest continued their eye-catching campaign with a 1-1 draw against leaders Liverpool while, after successive cup defeats, Mikel Arteta’s men secured a morale-boosting win over north London rivals Spurs.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently sit third in the table with their form underpinned by the goals of Chris Wood who took his tally for the campaign to 14 in all competitions with another well-taken effort against the Reds on Tuesday.
The form of the New Zealand international has meant Taiwo Awoniyi has been reduced a bit-part role this season and his situation has alerted West Ham, another Premier League club desperate for a new forward.
Michail Antonio is a long-term absentee after suffering severe injuries in a car crash last month, while summer signing Niclas Fullkrug pulled his hamstring during the midweek win over Fulham.
Should Awoniyi depart the City ground, Forest will contemplate a move for Wissa who is also said to have an admirer in Mikel Arteta, according to The Telegraph.
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Arsenal are already said to be interested in Wissa’s Brentford teammate, Bryan Mbeumo, who will not be allowed to leave the Gtech Community Stadium this month, according to Bees boss Thomas Frank.
Wissa, 28, has scored 12 times this season and impressed again in midweek, helping his side back into a game that appeared to have been lost against Manchester City.
The Gunners were not expected to be active in the January window but a spate of injuries have forced the club to alter their plans.
Bukayo Saka will be out for another two months at least with the hamstring strain he picked up against Crystal Palace.
The England winger attended last night’s win against Spurs but given he is still on crutches following hamstring surgery he is unlikely to be back any time soon.
Ethan Nwaneri is close to making his return, but Gabriel Jesus faces a long spell on the sidelines after he suffered another serious knee injury in last weekend’s FA Cup defeat against Manchester United.
When asked if he wants to bring in another attacker, Arteta said last night: ‘Yes, for sure.
‘Because we lost two players, big players, Bukayo [Saka] – that can be out for up to three months, so that’s a long time – and Gabby [Jesus], that’s going to be out for a long, long, long time.
‘We are going to try, for sure. We are actively looking at. I think we have lost two very important players, we have 14 players in the squad, and we play every three days. We will try, but let’s see who we can get.’