The £50m-rated Bundesliga forward who could be Arsenal's dream signing - if they act fast

Arsenal haven’t been quite as proactive in the summer transfer window as many of their fans might have expected – with four weeks to go, the much-needed midfielder hasn’t arrived and neither have any attacking reinforcements. Players they hoped would move on are still training at Colney. Time hasn’t run out, but a lot of dominoes need to fall to make sure that Mikel Arteta has a strong and deep enough squad to have a real chance of toppling Manchester City.

Several attacking players that were strongly linked with a move to north London have stayed put, and many of their situations have become more complicated. Viktor Gyökeres is likely to stay put, Tottenham Hotspur have moved for Dominic Solanke, Ivan Toney will be harder to prise away from Brentford given an injury to Igor Thiago – and so on, and so forth. Arsenal need more goals and need more depth across the front three, but barriers are popping up all over. So when a clear-cut opportunity to sign an established, high-class and affordable attacking player emerges, Arsenal can’t afford to hesitate any more.

One such open goal may have presented itself. According to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich have decided to try and move Kingsley Coman, who is thought to have an asking price of around £50m, on after nine seasons at the Allianz Arena. Apparently they’re happy to move the Frenchman on either permanently or on loan, but either will require the Bavarians to find a club who not only need a winger but who are also capable of paying Coman’s reported £280,000 weekly wage. Arsenal fit the bill. Few others do.

The 28-year-old is perfectly capable of playing on either flank, but as a right-footed player it’s the left wing where he could fit in at Arsenal, should they make a move. Tenuous reports from HITC and The Sun back in June suggested that Coman was on the Gunners’ radar, but nothing tangible has yet emerged – still, sometimes the stars align neatly enough and Arsenal would surely be remiss not to pick up the phone.

One of Arsenal’s issues is trying to balance a desire to spend substantial sums on first-rate new recruits with their inability to find buyers for players like Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson. The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules mean that it’s tricky for the club to go big without moving players on, just a year after splashing £105m on Declan Rice. But if Coman is available on loan then the damage to the balance sheet would be minimal.

And while Arsenal have options on the left, they need reinforcements across the attacking line. Gabriel Martinelli lost his starting spot after his form fell off last season, Leandro Trossard can make an impact but is frustratingly inconsistent and not necessary the most well-rounded player, and on the right flank Bukayo Saka more or less stands alone. Coman would give them a quality option on the left and a back-up should Saka go down with an injury. Last season, the England international played through injuries on a number of occasions, and with a player like Coman it would be far easier to give him rest and recuperation time when required.

If Coman has a downside, it’s that for all of his dynamism, technique and pace, he isn’t wildly productive – he has never scored more than eight goals in a league season and has only contributed more than five assists once for Bayern. But while the fact he isn’t a free-scoring player may give Arteta and his transfer team a certain pause for thought (they need to find a few more goals to bridge the gap, that’s for certain) he can stretch defences and create space effectively, and is a fine finisher when he does get in goal-scoring positions. Since xG started being recorded, he has comfortably exceeded his expected mark in all but one season.

Arsenal’s search for attacking bodies has mostly focused, rightly, on the need for a genuine number nine, but a player who can do work on both wings, who can work hard in a high press, has the technique to play quick exchanges around the box and who can run defences ragged on the counter would also be a hugely important addition. Arsenal lean heavily on a handful of players to play at their highest level and an injury or two among players like Saka and Martin Ødegaard could be disastrous. The depth is minimal, at least by the standards required for a Premier League title challenge.

Coman could strengthen the starting eleven but would certainly power up the depth chart. He’s probably available on loan, and while that would require a loan fee to be paid it would make life easier under PSR – and there are relatively few other teams who have the financial clout to pay the France international and who have such a clear need out wide. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal finally make a meaningful move in the market now that Coman’s availability seems clear.